Magnetic Synapse
by AnonyMice
Summary: Set roughly a month after Apocalypse falls, with Magneto living at the Institute. When Cerebro's newest update leads to unforeseen results, Xavier takes on two new wards. Meanwhile, he and Magneto are seeing disturbing similarities between themselves and these students. They quickly become blips on SHIELD's radar, and of course, only good can come from that, right?
1. Prologue

Erik Lehnsherr strode calmly through the halls of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. He made his way to the elevator that would take him to the sub basement where his old friend was patiently awaiting his arrival. Well, probably not so patiently at this point, as Erik purposely took his time to meet him. Charles' excited message of 'Erik, meet me inside Cerebro immediately, please' had been received well over ten minutes ago.

'I don't particularly enjoy being summoned,' Erik thought to himself. As he pressed the button to summon the elevator, the sound of nervous murmurs reached his ears. Turning, he watched as a couple of the newer mutants skittered out of the hallway. A slow smirk made its way to his face.

He found it incredibly amusing that he had been living at the Institute for over a month now, had even taken up training the New Mutants and X-Men alike, and yet many of the residents were still skittish around him.

At least he didn't have to fight to keep control of the remote.

The elevator door opened and Erik stepped inside, pressing the button for the sub basement. His mind wandered to Charles' annoyingly vague message. 'He certainly seemed excited about something' he thought. He didn't have time to ponder it any longer, as the elevator jerked and came to a stop. He stepped out and walked down the hall to where Cerebro sat in all its glory. The door was open.

Inside sat Erik's closest friend. Charles held Cerebro's headpiece in his lap, a faraway look on his face and a slight smile on his lips. He glanced over as Erik entered, his smile quickly changing into an expression of playful irritation.

"I was unaware the trek from your room to the sub basement was so lengthy, Erik." Erik smirked.

"I got lost," he replied sarcastically. Xavier actually laughed aloud at that. "Charles, what on Earth has you in such high spirits?"

"I thought you would be interested in witnessing Cerebro's newest update in action."

_That _piqued Erik's curiosity.

"Oh, and what does this update do?"

"Instead of only showing when a new mutant's powers emerge, Cerebro will now to alert me to a _possible _heightened X-gene in an individual. Furthermore, I have it set to inform me if the emergence of said individual's powers would be detrimental to his or her mental health." As Charles explained all of this, his eyes lit up and it was quite obvious to Erik that he couldn't wait to begin.

"You've certainly kept yourself busy," he muttered as Cerebro's doors slid shut. Charles laughed again as he placed the headset on his head.

"Yes, well, that is _if _it works, of course."

Suddenly, the machine came to life. The screen shifted to a map of their current location.

"I am checking if we even have a –"

Right then, Cerebro let out two soft beeps.

"Ah, it appears we actually have two. Both reside in…California."

Erik glanced away from the map, which had once again shifted, (this time to show southern California) and locked eyes with Charles. The man had a huge smile on his face, his eyes bright. It was obvious the possibility of helping these soon-to-be mutants truly excited him. Erik couldn't help but return his friend's smile.

"We should probably set up a –"

Charles was cut off by a series of loud beeps emanating from Cerebro. The screen flickered on and off in a manner he had never seen before. As he reached up to remove the headpiece, he was hit by a sudden, intense pain in his skull. It felt like an attack, but the culprit would have to be an incredibly powerful telepath. Someone of his caliber. The pain was blinding.

He heard a surprised exclamation off to the side and turned to face Cerebro's other occupant. Erik dropped to one knee, his hand held to his head. He had an expression of pain etched on his face.

As abruptly as this phantom attack began, however, it ended. Neither man moved a muscle, both attempting to even out their haggard breathing.

Charles turned back to Cerebro's screen as Erik stood back up. Both noticed the absence of the strange beeping and screen-flickering. Cerebro merely displayed a detailed map of southern California, exactly as before. Erik turned to face his friend.

"Charles, what the _hell _was that?" He hissed. He was enraged. It had been years, decades possibly, since he had suffered a mental attack. He almost forgot how painful they were.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Xavier responded, shakily. "I will certainly look into it after we have taken care of this." He waved at the map on the screen, indicating the two green dots that had since appeared. They were rather close to each other.

"_After?" _He asked, incredulously. What did he mean, after? They had just –

"Yes, Erik, _after." _Charles cut off his line of thinking strongly. "The purpose of this endeavor is to potentially stop someone, in this case," he checked over the information Cerebro provided for the two green dots, "two young ladies, from being hurt by the emergence of their powers. Cerebro doesn't tell me _when _this will happen, so time is of the essence."

Xavier gathered all of his information on these two young ladies and removed the headset. Immediately, Cerebro began to power down.

Turning to leave, he looked up at Erik, who was still watching him, an unreadable expression on his face. Charles spoke.

"I suggest you get some sleep, Erik. We need to be ready to move when the time comes."

With that, Charles left. Erik, unmoving, thought back on what had just happened. Of course he wanted to help these new mutants, especially with something as possibly traumatic as the emergence of their powers. And he understood that that took precedence. But the engineer, the strategist, the part of him that _thrived _on knowledge couldn't get the _how _out of his head. Had it been a faulty update? Was Cerebro simply malfunctioning in general? Could it have come from outside Cerebro's doors?

He shook his head in an attempt to clear these thoughts. Leaving the machine behind, he made his way to his bedroom, knowing full well that he would not be getting much sleep.

Three thousand miles away, two girls attempted to fall back asleep after being jolted awake by the worst headache either had ever experienced.


	2. Dreams and Beatings

"Ow, shit."

Jerking awake, Riley attempted to regain her surroundings from her admittedly strange viewpoint on the floor. She managed to untangle herself from the mass of sheets and blankets and stood up. She quickly realized she was in her room.

'Dream. Of course,' she thought, looking around. Random posters littered the walls. Robots, police boxes, musicians, and maps of worlds that never were stared back at her. Nothing like the bare, bleak walls of the barracks still fresh in her memory. Her gaze slid to the bed and sheets, strewn about on the floor. Much more inviting than that uncomfortable monstrosity posing as a bed that she could _swear _she had just been sleeping on.

Still somewhat shaken up, Riley made her way to the bathroom and began her morning ritual. Stripping down, she hopped in the shower, hoping it would wake her up. Whereas normally a shower had a calming effect on her, Riley could feel herself growing more and more tense by the moment. Her dream kept playing back in her mind. Or rather, what she could recall. There were few images, it was mostly the emotions.

Fear was prevalent. She didn't know what she had been fearing, but it was terrifying. The other prominent emotion was anger. No, not anger as much as absolute _fury _mixed with what felt like…was that indignation? She could still feel these emotions coursing through her. While the fear was quickly fading, the rage remained. She turned off the water and stepped out.

Something in her reflection caught her eye, and she turned to face the mirror. Her heart skipped a beat as her bright, grey eyes locked onto her messy black hair.

"What the hell?" Se whispered, stunned, as she ran her hair through her short hair. It had most certainly been black when she went to bed last night. Now, however, there were bits of white mixed in. Half of her head was snow white. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Riley found herself enjoying the contrast between the colors. At the present, she couldn't help but stare at her reflection, the puddle at her feet growing bigger by the second.

"I gotta see Eli," she muttered as she toweled off and got dressed.

Eli, or Iliana, was Riley's best friend. Closer than her own family, Iliana knew literally everything about her. And the road went both ways. Riley knew she could talk to Iliana about anything without any worries of judgment.

That was more than she could say about her own flesh and blood, her hand subconsciously moving to scratch at her left forearm as she recalled her father's reaction when she told him she was bisexual not even three weeks prior. The black eye had stung like a bitch, but watching as her mother and brother did nothing to help had hurt even more. Since that day, she only exchanged words with her family when it was absolutely necessary. And they were more than happy to return the favor.

She could feel the rage growing as she thought about them, downstairs eating breakfast together like a normal, happy family.

She wandered back into her room to gather the crap she needed to get through the day. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with her classes today. Not that she didn't enjoy learning; quite the opposite. She loved gaining knowledge more than any other activity. She merely did not like to actually _attend _her classes, preferring to study on her own and ace her tests.

Well, at least she and Iliana shared this class today. She would get to see her friend, who would probably be able to calm her down significantly, plus she wouldn't have to walk!

As Riley finished loading her bag, she checked the clock. Ten minutes before Iliana would be pulling up at the front door. Putting her earbuds in, she grabbed her phone and headed out front to wait, not even sparing a glance into the dining room.

Immediately, a black Honda pulled up next to her, the passenger side window rolling down. Riley stuck her head in.

"Aren't you gonna—" 

"None of your sass, get your ass in here!" Iliana interrupted. Smirking, she opened the door and slid in. They pulled away and headed toward the community college.

After a moment, Riley spoke up. "You're early, what's up?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure, just seemed to be the thing to do." They pulled up at a red light and Iliana turned to face her, her beautiful brown eyes searching. "Is something wrong, Riley?" she asked seriously, watching as Riley rubbed her arm.

Her eyes widened slightly before she smiled and shook her head.

"Constantly feeding into my theory that you can read my mind," she muttered. The light changed and they were off again.

"Exactly, so keep it clean." Riley chuckled at that. "But seriously, what happened?"

Riley gestured faintly to her head.

"You did a really good job with that, it looks awesome."

"I didn't do it," she uttered under her breath.

Iliana glanced over quickly, and then turned to face the road again. "Then who did?" She knew the crap Riley's family had put her through, hell; every time she had to leave and hide from them she would do so at Iliana's house. Knowing this, she could hardly believe that any member of her family would have assisted in an endeavor that likely took hours.

Riley sighed. "I have no idea. I woke up from this weird-ass dream, and it was like that!" Iliana could tell she was getting worked up. She made a decision.

As the exit for the school came up, she continued on.

"You know you missed the—"

"Yea, forget that. I think you could benefit from a mental heath day. Wanna hit the park until it's more of an appropriate time to eat?"

Riley leaned back in her seat with a grin on her face and nodded.

Erik sat in Charles' office, waiting for the man to finish his phone conversation so he could discover what had been _so important _that the man felt the need to summon him _again. _'I am truly getting sick of that,' he thought haughtily.

As it turned out, he didn't have long to wait.

"Yes, thank you. Yes, we shall see you shortly. Alright, goodbye." He hung up the phone with a smile and looked to Erik, who merely raised an eyebrow.

"That was the father of one Iliana Gutierez, one of the two girls we discovered yesterday. I have explained his daughter's situation, and he agreed it would be beneficial to meet in person to discuss her options." Charles looked to be so thrilled that Erik almost stopped himself from asking.

Almost.

"And what situation would that be, Charles? That she _might _have a heightened X-gene and that, through untested methods, you have discovered that the emergence of these hypothetical powers _may _cause her harm? You seem to be far too happy for someone who has just held that sort of conversation." Xavier's smile did not falter.

"Ever the pessimist, Erik."

"I like to think of myself as a realist," he remarked with a smirk.

"Nevertheless, I merely explained that the chances were incredibly high that she would become a mutant and that coming into her powers would be easier if she was around people who understood and had experienced the same."

Erik, for once, looked shocked. "That is all it took?"

"Indeed. Now I just need to speak with the family of…" he checked the file on his desk. "Riley Sephryn. If all goes well, we should be going to pick them up within a day or two."

Charles picked up the phone and dialed. Erik patiently sat in his chair, still having trouble believing that his friend had been able to convince the first girl's family of _anything _so easily. He decided to listen in on this one.

"Hello, am I speaking with Mr. Sephryn? My name is Charles Xavier, I am calling to discuss your daughter—"

Charles paused, listening intently to whatever the other man had said to cut him off. His expression became troubled.

"No, sir, she hasn't _done _anything—" Pause.

"Sir, I just want to express the fact that it seems she is a mutant who will be coming into her powers soon and—"

Erik's eyes widened. _That _was going to prove to be a mistake, he could tell. Even without hearing the other man's side of the conversation, he could tell that this father didn't much care for his daughter. He reached over and mutely pressed the button to put the phone on speaker.

"— FUCKING BRAT _WOULD _BE A FREAK ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE—"

"Mr. Sephryn," Charles interrupted. He didn't miss the way Erik's jaw tightened as he glared at the phone. "Perhaps I could speak to her? I run a school where we are quite well equipped to take care of her through this ordeal. I would be happy to—"

Interrupted yet again.

"Take her! Get her the fuck _out of my home! _I want this poison gone as soon as possible!" With that, Mr. Sephryn ended the phone call. Xavier put the receiver down as he looked to where Erik sat, still with that angry expression. Their eyes met.

"Ever the pessimist, indeed."

Finally, after about two hours of screwing around at the park, Riley and Iliana headed over to the diner across the street. Just then, Iliana's phone went off. She stopped to read the message.

"Damn, my dad wants me back home for a bit. Apparently, he's got something important to discuss with me…sounds ominous." She muttered that last part.

"Yea, well, how ominous could it be? What's he gonna do, break up with you?" Riley deftly avoided the hand aimed at her head.

"Point. Wanna come over and hear whatever it is? I'll probably be released once he's done." They turned and headed back to the car.

"Nah, it's ok. I'll take a nap or something until you're finished. Sounds like it may end up being personal." 

"There is no personal from you," Iliana deadpanned as they climbed in. Riley grinned, yet again.

"True enough, but we may as well let Papa Gutierez think that his private family matters _stay _private for more than twenty minutes, right?"

They drove in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Riley found herself scratching at her arm again. Odd, since it wasn't actually bothering her.

Realizing they were in front of her house, Riley exited the car, after making plans to meet up later.

As she walked into the house, she realized she hadn't eaten a thing all day.

'I should probably make a sandwich. Oooh, maybe there are some pizza bagels left, if my fat lard of a brother hasn't eaten them all.'

She was so engrossed with the thought of getting some food in her system that she didn't even see the fist flying at her face until it connected. Her father stood in front of her, anger in his eyes. She took a step back. He advanced.

"Every day I think you can't become any more of a _disgrace _to this family, and every day you prove me wrong." His voice was dangerously calm. He balled his fists again, preparing to strike.

"What are you ta—"

"DO NOT SPEAK TO ME!"

'Well, shit, there goes the calm,' she thought, as his fist connected with her face yet again. 'Damn, that's gonna be another black eye.'

"A mutant of all things?! You haven't brought _enough _shame into this household that you feel the need to do so genetically as well?!"

_Now _Riley was confused.

"What are you—"

"I SAID DO NOT SPEAK TO ME!" That time, he managed to get her nose. She could feel the blood start to drip down her face.

"I spoke to a man who runs a facility for you freaks." The calm voice returned. "He's going to come and take you away from here. I don't know where he'll take you, and I don't know when. Quite frankly, I don't care. You have two hours to get yourself and your shit out of my home. I was nice enough to pick up boxes for you."

He gestured to the living room, where a couple used boxes that had probably been pulled from a liquor store dumpster sat waiting.

'Oh yea, so nice.' She looked back at him as she picked up the boxes and headed for her room, wiping her bloody nose on her sleeve as she went.

Once she reached her room, she threw the boxes down and got to work. She wasn't even trying to be neat, knowing that if she missed her father's…gracious…two hour window, he would probably put her in the hospital.

Clothes, books, everything was stuffed into the boxes. Luckily, she didn't have very many belongings in the first place. 'The only time being the black sheep has ever been useful,' she thought, maliciously.

She could quickly feel herself becoming enraged, which wouldn't be too surprising, given her situation. However, normally when she got angry, it wasn't mixed with any other emotion. This time, she could feel indignation as well. Not unlike this morning, actually.

'How _dare _he treat me like this,' she seethed, as she packed the last box full of the few handheld games and electronics she had managed to acquire over the years.

Five boxes. Her whole life had just been unceremoniously crammed into five boxes. Which left her with a dilemma.

"How the hell am I supposed to go anywhere with five goddamn boxes?" she wondered aloud. She glanced at the clock. "Oh shit, thirty more minutes."

Really, Iliana was her only choice. Wiping her nose yet again, she reached for her phone and dialed her friend's number. No answer.

"Damn, she's probably still discussing…whatever…with her dad." She tried again, nothing. Now slightly panicking, she dialed the home line. Mrs. Gutierez answered a moment later. Riley exhaled gratefully.

"Hello?"

"Mama, please, I need your help. My father just flipped on me and if I'm not out of here with all my belongings within," she checked the clock, "twenty minutes, I think he may genuinely kill me." As she gave her quick explanation, she could feel herself growing hysterical.

"I will have Iliana over there immediately," was the response. "Would you like me to stay on the phone with you until she arrives?"

"Please."

She didn't register anything Mama Gutierez said to her, though her voice was calming. A couple minutes later, a horn blared outside. Hanging up, she grabbed one of the boxes and went out to meet her friend. Iliana had forgone the Honda and brought her dad's Explorer.

Riley crammed the first box inside and turned to Iliana, who was pissed, to say the least. The two headed back inside to fetch the remaining boxes in silence. Finally, with all five securely jammed in the car, they got inside. Iliana turned to Riley and spoke.

"What happened?" she asked, as she gazed at the bruises on her friend's jaw and eye, along with the dried blood under her nose.

"I don't even know, Eli! He flipped on me as soon as you dropped me back home! Said I was a disgrace, which he's already made clear in the past, but this time…because I'm a mutant? How is that fair, I don't even _have_ any powers! I mean, if I did, wouldn't I have, I dunno, _fucking used them?!_ I can understand that he enjoys beating me senseless, but for God's sake, do it for a valid reason!" Riley vented to her friend.

As she began her tirade, Iliana started them on the drive to her house. She pulled over and regarded Riley again.

"You're a mutant…who doesn't have any powers?" she asked, slowly.

"Apparently, according to the dude my father spoke to." Riley couldn't decipher the look in Eli's eye.

Eli's eyes widened. "And who was this "dude" that your father spoke to?" she asked quietly.

Excitement, Riley realized. Eli was excited. Admittedly, that was the opposite reaction she expected to receive.

"Um, I didn't get a name, only that he runs a facility for us freaks, and was probably going to take me away soon." She was confused as all hell. Why did this bit of information seem to be good news to her friend?

Still not moving the car, Eli turned to face her. "I wanna give you the quick version of what my dad and I were discussing," she began. Riley nodded. "He received a phone call from a man named Xavier, who runs a school specially designed to help mutants. Apparently, I am a mutant whose powers have not yet manifested. He wants to meet with me, I believe the date is set for tomorrow, to discuss what that means. And we're going to discuss the possibility of me moving to New York to live at this school. Now obviously we can't know for sure, but on the off chance that your father spoke to the same man, the same offer could possibly exist for you, too." Eli studied her friend.

Riley's jaw dropped. She was speechless. A chance to get as far away from her "family" as the country would allow? She knew she shouldn't put her hope in this one angle, but it was hard not to, when that was really all she had.

"I hope that was him," she muttered, as Iliana restarted the car and drove back home.

'Goddamn it, Charles,' Erik thought to himself, now thoroughly irritated. After that phone call with the girl's father, Charles thought it best to send Erik to "get some air". God forbid Magneto destroy his study in a fit of rage. He realized that the girl, Riley, could possibly be in danger of the man, and so he wanted to expedite this trip. While Erik was gone, he called the first family, Gutierez, back and spoke to the father yet again. After assuring him that no, nothing was wrong with Iliana, that an unforeseen complication had forced him to make the trip as soon as possible, Xavier made the arrangement to come out as soon as possible and be there by nightfall.

As such, since he planned to drag Erik along with him, he sent out a telepathic message to meet, again, in his study.

Without knocking, Erik walked in.

"I am not your dog to be called to heel whenever you please, Charles," he hissed.

Charles chose to ignore that one. "Get ready, Erik, we leave for California in ten minutes."

Erik started. "I thought you had planned to speak to the families tomorrow." Charles sighed.

"I had. However, I felt it best to speed the process up as much as possible, considering…"

"You do not wish for the father to have a full day's worth of time with which he can use to possibly harm the girl," Erik finished for him. "Are we taking any of the other students with us?"

Charles looked to the clock, and then did a double take. How was it only 12:23?

"No, they are still in class and I am not pulling them out. Let's go. I will call Sephryn once we arrive."

The two boarded the Blackbird, California bound. Erik knew what blind hatred could do to a person. He only hoped that they weren't too late.

**A/N: Holy crap, that was a bit longer than I thought, but this is the length I'm gonna strive for each update. So, yea, there's chapter two. I'm not 100 percent sure where this story is gonna go, so I hope you'll stick around for the ride!**

**MakingT'ingsGoBoom: MY FIRST REVIEW, OH MY GOD I CAN'T EXPRESS ENOUGH HOW HAPPY THAT MADE ME! Thank you!**

**Tx peppa: Okey dokey, will do!**

**NCISprobie: YAY! You are the author of two of my favorite stories on this site, seeing that you reviewed made me ecstatic! And I do intend to keep Magneto sarcastic, it's my favorite version of him!**


	3. Peas and Stress Balls

Iliana pulled up to her house a few minutes later, still upset at the condition she found Riley in. They exited the car wordlessly. Making their way up to the front door, she turned.

"We'll come get your stuff out later tonight, ok?" she asked. Riley nodded as they opened the door.

Iliana's mother and father hadn't moved from their positions in the living room. Upon seeing Riley's face, however, they jumped up.

"My God," her mother whispered as she rushed into the kitchen to grab an ice pack.

Papa Gutierez, as Riley had always addressed him, walked up to her and tilted her head back to get a closer look. "Doesn't look like he broke anything, thankfully, but that is going to leave a _bad_ bruise," he stated. "I assume you do not want to discuss what happened."

"No, thank you," she muttered.

"PEAS FIX EVERYTHING," they heard from the kitchen. As one, they turned to see Mama Gutierez walking over with what had to be the _biggest _bag of frozen peas Riley had ever seen in her twenty years.

"I don't…what?" That was as far as she got before the peas were dropped into her hand. She pressed the bag to her face. Ah, sweet relief.

"Iliana," her father began. "I want you to go and pack everything you would want to take with you should Xavier's sound like a place you want to be. There are still some boxes in the garage from the last move."

Eli looked startled. "Don't I have like…twenty-something hours before he arrives?" He shook his head.

"While you were out, I received a call from him. He stated that due to an 'unforeseen complication'," he made dramatic air quotes at that, and Riley laughed, "he would be leaving immediately and would be here before dark."

"Riiiight. And did he say what this 'unforeseen complication' was?" More air quotes. Mama Gutierez watched this display with the look of someone who had to deal with this discord on a daily basis.

"No, only that this 'unfore—"

"I swear, if either of you say that phrase _one more time, _I will end you," she threatened. Riley was now grinning from ear to ear, the ridiculously oversized bag of peas still pressed on her face. Papa Gutierez continued.

"He only stated that this," he stole a quick glance at his wife, "_dilemma _had nothing to do with you."

"Alright then, we'll get right on that." Iliana grabbed Riley by the shirt and dragged her to grab the boxes. The pair then entered her room.

"Wonder what the problem is," Riley stated as she plopped down onto Eli's bed.

"I have no idea, but I hope it isn't catastrophic or something." Iliana was folding her clothes and neatly depositing them into the boxes. This was going to take hours. She voiced that opinion.

"Yea, well, he's coming from New York, which should give me at least five hours, right?" More clothes were neatly placed in the box. Riley shrugged and, with the peas still resting on her face, moved to help gather Iliana's other possessions.

Or, rather, fiddled with the random stuff lying about while Iliana gathered her possessions. She looked over to watch as Riley picked up the pair of metal Baoding balls sitting on her bookshelf and began rolling them in her hand with ease.

"You are about as helpful as a dead fish, dude." She grinned and finally set down the peas.

"I try."

Iliana returned to the task at hand while Riley sat mesmerized by the stress balls twirling in her hand.

'These things work wonders,' she thought, finally able to clear her mind of everything that had transpired within the past couple hours as she focused only on the balls. Strange, whenever she messed with these things in the past, she always had at least a little difficulty keeping up a rhythm. Now, however, they just moved effortlessly.

Suddenly the door to Iliana's room was pushed open and her dog, Aquella, wandered in happily. Both girls turned to the lab as she pressed up against Riley's leg.

'Ah, crap,' Riley thought, realizing her allergies would probably keep her sneezing for a good couple hours. 'Oh well, c'est la vie.'

"Aquella, no, get out of here." Iliana led the dog out by the collar and closed the door. She turned to regard her friend. Riley was still fiddling with the stress balls as she met her gaze.

"Sorry. She loves you."

"Well, who wouldn't, I _am _amazing," she said with a smirk.

"And so modest." Iliana glanced at the clock. They had been at it for three hours. "I'm starving, let's grab a bite. Have you eaten anything at all today?" she asked, rubbing her temple.

"Nope, I— are you ok?" Riley asked, concerned. Eli didn't look like she was in pain, but the way she was rubbing her head worried her.

"Hmm? Yea, I'm peachy," she muttered. "Burritos sound good to you?"

Eli's eyes widened. "How…did you know that?"

"Know what?"

"That I have been craving a burrito from that little shop since yesterday." She knew Riley understood her well, but that…that made no sense. She had joked about it in the past, but Eli couldn't _actually _read her mind, that would be crazy.

Now it was Iliana's turn to look confused. "I didn't, I just had a feeling that that would be our best bet. You down?"

"Yea, that's—"

Suddenly Riley let out a loud sneeze. The stress balls flew out of her hand and landed with a loud thud on the desk.

On the other side of the room.

Jolting at the sudden noise, both girls turned to regard the Baoding balls sitting on the desk. Iliana was the first to speak.

"The hell was that?" she asked incredulously.

Riley shrugged. "I have no idea, Eli." Iliana could tell by her tone that her friend was exhausted. 'This can wait until after we get some food in our systems,' she thought.

Pocketing the stress balls and grabbing the bag of peas, the pair wandered out to the living room where Iliana's parents were watching some game show. These programs all tended to bleed together in Riley's mind. She returned the peas to the freezer as Iliana explained that they were going to go hit up the local burrito shop.

"Ok, but don't be gone too long, we're not exactly sure what time Xavier will be arriving," Papa Gutierez informed the girls, who nodded. They then headed out front to Eli's waiting Honda.

"Again, it's only been like three hours," Eli mentioned as they got inside and she started the car up. "It would take significantly longer than that to get from New York to this little slice of paradise, especially since it's not a huge city."

With that, the girls were off, the strange incidents in the bedroom all but forgotten in favor of thoughts of food.

OoOoOoOoO

Nearly three hours after takeoff, Charles and Erik noticed a _slight _issue.

"Charles, far be it from me to question your methods," Erik began. Charles gave him an exasperated look at that. "But where, exactly, were you planning on stashing this plane whilst we speak to these families for God only knows how long?"

Charles sighed at that. Erik was still a bit upset with him, with good reason. His rash decision to call the Sephryn family was born of excitement from his success with Gutierez. Understandable. However, his mistake of informing this man, who obviously already had issues with his daughter, that she was a mutant had put one of his own kind at risk. That was already problematic in Erik's eyes. But the fact that she was now in danger from some lowly _human _was absolutely unacceptable. No, Erik wasn't upset. He was _livid. _

"The Gutierez family lives about a block away from a rather large nature trail and park, complete with a fenced off area that is not open to the public. We can cloak the Blackbird and leave it there. However, it seems we have a bigger dilemma, and I would appreciate hearing your opinion on the matter."

"Yes?" Erik replied tensely.

"We have already determined that speaking outright to the Sephryn father is a bad idea." Erik snorted. Charles continued as if he hadn't heard him. "It would probably be safe to assume that the rest of the family is just as volatile. Should we merely show up at his door and ask to speak with her? Or, much as I detest lying, should we call under the guise of taking her away, as he has already expressed interest in us doing?"

Erik's features softened as he thought about that for a moment.

"Honestly Charles, I am not convinced she stayed at home. Of course if I am correct, finding the girl would become significantly more difficult, but with her father so angry, she may have run, rather than stay around him."

Charles' eyes widened. "Oh dear, you are correct."

"I have an idea that may give us our answer. Pass me your phone, please."

Confused, Charles did as he was asked. "Can I trust you to keep your anger under control, Erik?"

The glare Erik sent his way could have melted steel. Rather than respond, he dialed the number for the Sephryn family and waited.

Each ring made him tenser. 'The longer this takes, the more difficult it gets.'

Finally, a male voice answered the phone, though thankfully not the voice of the father.

"Hello?" the voice was muffled, as if the owner was speaking around a mouthful of food.

'Charming,' Erik thought, disgusted.

"Yes, I am from the Mutant Registration Division, I am looking for a Riley Sephryn." The words left a terrible taste in his mouth. Normally, he would just intimidate a human into giving him information. He reserved his skills with manipulation for more intelligent targets. But he knew this situation was delicate, the best way to get what he needed was to say what these cretins wanted to hear.

"Sorry dude, you just missed her." Erik cringed at being called _dude. _

"Have you any idea when she will be returning?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"She won't dude. Dad kicked her freak ass out." This was getting tedious and irritating. Time to take it one notch higher.

"She is exceptionally dangerous and it is imperative that I find her. Do you know where she would have gone?"

"Probably to her friend's place."

Erik slowly counted to ten. "May I have an address please, or possibly a phone number?" he said in that voice reserved for small children and annoying humans who were hellbent on dragging out conversations.

"Yea man, gimme a second. HEY DAD, WHAT'S RILEY'S FRIEND'S ADDRESS, SOME MUTANT HUNTER IS LOOKING FOR HER!"

Erik could almost _feel_ his blood boiling. If finding the girl wasn't such a pressing matter, he probably would have ended this entire family.

A moment later the voice returned. Erik jotted down the information.

"Good luck, dude." 

"Thank you," he hissed and snapped the phone shut with much more force than was necessary.

Wordlessly, he stood up from his seat, dropped the paper with this new address into Charles' lap, and walked to the back of the plane to cool off.

"Oh!"

Erik got about halfway when he heard Charles' exclamation. He turned to face his friend who, for the first time since that phone call with the Sephryn father, was smiling.

"Well, what do you know? Riley is staying at the Gutierez home."

Erik watched silently as Xavier began preparing the Blackbird for its descent. He activated the cloaking mechanism and lowered the ramp. As they exited the plane, the ramp returned to its original position.

The two mutants made it to the fence that cordoned off this section of the park. After making sure no one was nearby, Erik bent the fence to allow passage. Walking away, he flicked his hand and the gate repaired itself.

He was grateful that he was finally beginning to calm down. Both girls were safe, and if all went according to plan they would be back home just after dinner.

They walked through the park in silence. Before Erik realized, they were standing in front of a moderately sized house with an Explorer parked in the drive way.

"Here we go," said Charles as the two made it to the front door and rang the bell.

OoOoOoOoO

"Burritos are the best things ever."

Riley looked over to her friend who was cutting into her monstrous burrito with a fork and knife. She then regarded her own half-eaten meal.

'Yea, that doesn't fly with me,' she thought with a sly smile as she picked the whole thing up and attempted to cram it into her mouth.

Just then, Iliana's phone chirped.

"Wat'thitthay?"

"That apparently we need to light a fire under our asses, cuz the guy, Xavier, just arrived like ten minutes ago." She looked up just in time to watch Riley shove what was left of her burrito down her throat. "Please don't choke."

A few moments later, Eli and Riley were back in the car returning to the house. Riley reached into her pocket and pulled out the Baoding balls, twirling them nervously. She looked over at her friend and opened her mouth to speak. Eli beat her to it.

"Me too."

"What?"

"You were gonna say you're scared, weren't you?" she asked knowingly.

"Yes," Riley replied. She was terrified. What if they had made a mistake and only Eli was allowed to go? Or what if after meeting her, Xavier decided she wasn't good enough and left her? So many scenarios were playing in her mind.

"I'm scared, too. But we'll be fine, Riley. I promise."

They pulled up to the house and got out of the car. As they reached the front door, voices could be heard coming from inside. Iliana turned and gave her friend a quick hug.

"Just stay calm."

"Right." She stopped twirling and merely gripped the metal balls tightly.

They opened the door and the voices stopped. As the two entered, they noticed two new faces.

One man was in a wheelchair. He was dressed nicely in his suit, complete with tie, his fingers steepled in front of his face. He met Riley's gaze with a look of pity. She winced under his scrutiny, knowing full well that that expression was due to the bruises on her face. She _hated _receiving pity from anyone.

The other man sat on the couch. His get-up was much simpler, but no less elegant, with his slacks and dark shirt.

Whereas the first man looked at her with pity, the second one appeared furious. His jaw was tight, his eyes narrowed. As Riley stared at him, the first one spoke.

"Ah, I assume you two must be Iliana and Riley."

Riley was taken aback. She knew he was here to speak to Eli, but why did he sound like he expected her as well? She began twirling the Baoding balls again, needing the calming action.

Correctly interpreting her confused expression, the man Riley assumed to be Xavier smiled slightly. "We were worried, so we spoke to your family. Her father was it, Erik?" He looked over to the angry man, now identified as 'Erik'.

"No, I believe it was a brother. He informed me that you were here."

"Oh ew, I'm sorry, he's disgusting," Riley said, her nose wrinkling.

Erik smiled a bit at that. "Indeed he is."

"Well girls," Xavier called their attention back to himself. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Charles Xavier and I run a school for mutants in New York. This is Erik Lehnsherr, he is an instructor. Erik nodded in affirmation.

"So, you have no intention of locking us up, right?" Iliana asked. Her parents looked absolutely flabbergasted at the question. Xavier, on the other hand, understood that Iliana had asked only for her friend's benefit.

'These girls are extremely close,' he directed at Erik, whose only reaction was an almost unperceivable nod.

"Certainly not."

"You told my brother you were going to, though, didn't you?" Riley asked Erik. At his shocked expression a slight smirk appeared on her face. "It's the only way my family would tell you anything to help me."

'Logic. She's very logical,' Erik fired at his friend.

"Unless you tortured it out of him?" She looked far too excited at that thought and Erik laughed loudly. "Afraid not."

"Damn it."

"Back on topic." Xavier cast Erik a slightly irritated look, to which he merely smiled innocently. "The purpose of this school is to help new mutants with their abilities."

At that, Iliana and Riley exchanged worried glances. Iliana spoke.

"Um, we don't actually _have _powers."

"Dude!" Riley lightly whacked her on the shoulder.

"What?"

Charles and Erik were confused. They heard Iliana's spoken reply. At the same time, they also felt it in their minds. Odd.

Riley effortlessly switched over to Spanish, something she always did whenever speaking around her monolingual family.

"[What if they don't want us now?]"

"[_Calm down, _Riley. They were going to find out eventually.]"

Again, this was both vocalized and broadcasted mentally.

Charles looked to Erik, knowing his friend was fluent. He spoke up.

"[You do not need to concern yourself with that.]"

Both girls looked over. "Sorry," Riley said sheepishly. "Bad habit."

"Not a problem," Charles said reassuringly. "We are aware that your powers have not…fully manifested yet."

"Fully?"

"Indeed. We can discuss this further, but first, I would like to discuss the specifics of the Institute to you and your family to make sure that this is an avenue you girls would like to pursue."

The discussion turned to the school itself, some of its workings, the city, everything. Riley stopped paying attention, as this information was not necessary for her. She knew she was going, she had no other options. It wasn't as if she could return to her family.

She looked over to Mama and Papa Gutierez, who were taking in all of Xavier's information. This would be hard for them, watching their little girl leave. She knew Eli would miss them immensely. 'Hell, I will, too.'

"Calming, isn't it?"

Riley nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Erik's voice next to her ear. She looked up at him as he returned to his seat.

"What?" was the intelligent response.

He nodded to her hand, where she was _still _fiddling with the stress balls. 'Damn, I have been messing with these for hours.'

"Yea, I liberated them from Iliana's room and I can't stop screwing around with them. They've never had that effect on me before, but now it's like I can think clearly, for once." Riley had no idea why she just shared that with the man.

"I understand. They actually have the same effect on me." He smiled. She returned it, nervously.

"Charles. I am going to borrow Riley for a moment." Erik stood and motioned for her to follow him.

"Erik—"

"She has obviously made her decision already, this discussion is mostly for the parents anyhow."

Charles sighed. "Very well. Don't be too long."

Erik bowed. "Of course not." Riley hid her grin behind her hand. She liked this one.

Before Charles could respond, they walked out the front door and onto the patio.

"Where to?"

Erik didn't speak as he moved right in front of her. She tilted her head back slightly to meet his gaze.

"Tilt your head back."

"Um…"

"I want to make sure your nose is not broken."

She leaned her head back as he proceeded to examine her nose. It still hurt quite a bit, but she didn't think it was broken.

"That wasn't the first time a member of your family hurt you, was it?" he asked as he finished his observation. "Nothing is broken."

"No, it wasn't." She didn't offer anything else, and he didn't ask. After a few moments of silence, she asked the question that had been burning at the back of her mind for quite some time.

"So, what can you do?"

He glanced over, slightly shocked that she would ask, but he smiled. He held his hand, palm upward, in front of himself. Suddenly, the stress balls shot out from Riley's grasp and floated above his hand. They started moving in circles without him touching them. She gaped at him.

"I control metal."

"Holy shit." He laughed at that. The stress balls floated back over to her and she took them out of the air.

"That reminds me, something weird happened with those things before you and Xavier arrived."

"Oh?"

"Yea, we were talking and I sneezed. The damn things flew across the entire room. I forgot about that," she muttered.

"Hm. We should probably go back inside, hopefully Charles is done so we can get you two ready to go."

"Ok."

They headed inside, Erik pondering over what Riley had just told him.

'Impossible. Her friend is obviously telepathic, but could she really be a metal bender as well? I should probably watch that.'

Erik could tell Charles was finishing up his speech, and he silently thanked any divine being that was listening.

"So, Iliana, Riley," Xavier turned to regard each girl. "Does the Xavier Institute sound like a place you would like to live?"

"Yes," Riley answered, almost before he finished his question. "Yes," Iliana echoed a moment later.

"And do you approve?" This question was directed to Mama and Papa Gutierez. They both nodded.

Charles smiled widely. "Fantastic! I will call Hank and have him get the two rooms set up. I understand you already packed, just in case?" Iliana nodded.

"Wonderful. Erik and I will fetch the Blackbird. We will return shortly."

With that, they left.

The girls were both lost in thought. Iliana was nervous. She knew she was more than ready to live away from her parents, but she was still leaving home. It would be difficult.

Riley, on the other hand, was ecstatic. She felt that she was finally _going _home.

As they waited for the "Blackbird", whatever that was, they said their goodbyes. Hugs were exchanged, promises made to call regularly, and kisses placed on the cheeks of both girls.

After a couple minutes, there was a knock on the door. Iliana opened it to see Erik standing with a black jet behind him, sitting in the street. No one spoke, transfixed as they were on the plane.

Erik broke the silence with a smirk. "Well, shall we?"

Riley and Iliana sprang into action. They proceeded to Iliana's room to fetch the boxes and carry them up the ramp, with Erik's assistance. After Iliana's boxes were cleared, they went to empty Riley's belongings out of the Explorer. With everything packed up, Erik nodded politely to Iliana's parents and entered the Blackbird, giving the family their privacy.

Riley gave the Gutierez parents (who had been more of a family to her for the past eight years than her own family) a giant hug, and followed him onto the plane. She plopped down onto the first seat behind the pilot's chair and waited for Eli. She couldn't wait to finally go to sleep. This day was _officially _exhausting.

A couple minutes passed, and Iliana entered the plane, sitting next to Riley. She looked over at her friend and smiled.

"Alright, we are off."

**A/N: FINALLY! God I wanted to get to this point so badly. Next chapter we have everyone meeting our new students, and them discovering their abilities. **

**tx peppa: Why thank you! That's what I was going for with the father. And I know that I have definitely made some terrible judgment calls when super excited, I figure Charles Xavier is probably not immune to that! :D**

**MakingT'ingsGoBoom: Exactly. Charles' dream is so much better, but Erik's is more of a foreseeable reality. And as for Rogue, she will make her appearance next chapter, I promise!**

**NCISprobie: Thank you! That was my main thing; I don't want to stray out of character, not even with Riley or Iliana. I have more wiggle room with Riley, since she is loosely based on the way I act and react. However, Eli is a carbon copy of my best friend Elena. To the point where some of their conversations are ones she and I have had in the past. **

**I hope everyone had an awesome Easter! Thank you for reading!**

**-Mac**


	4. Chaos in the Morning

_People everywhere. Looking around, all she saw were scared faces and guns. They were being herded, though she had no clue as to where. Past the mob of people she was walking with, she could catch glimpses of others, working. Each of them had what appeared to be a blue serial number on their forearm. _

'_What?' She tried to get a closer look, but realized someone was tugging on her. Turning her attention back to the group she was with, she realized the guards that had been escorting this group were now dividing them into two. _

_She looked over at the woman she was with. She was terrified, just like the others. "[Mama]," she heard herself cry out in a deep voice. "[Mama, what is happening?]"_

"_[All is ok, my son]," she responded._

_Before she could respond, she was torn away from her mother. Screaming, she tried to grab for her, but the guards were leading her away. Her mother was reaching out for her, begging the monsters to let her go to her child, but they would not listen. _

_After a few grueling moments, the gate closed, separating mother and child. She did not stop screaming, however, rage mixed with fear. Her hand was still extended toward the gate keeping her from her only family. _

_With a horrible screeching sound, the gate started to give, bending inward. The guards watched in amazement as the enormous gate began to warp. The prisoners, or whatever this group was, scurried to get out of the way._

_She was so focused on the gate, knowing it was the only thing keeping her from her mother, that she didn't even see the guard who had approached her. He clocked her in the skull with his gun, and everything faded away._

Riley woke with a start, sweating. Looking around, she blinked as she realized where she was. She took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.

"You alright?" Iliana's voice sounded concerned. She faced her friend and forced a smile.

"Yea, I'm golden."

"Bull," Iliana said immediately. "What happened?"

"Bad dream," she responded, rubbing her arm unconsciously. "Looking back on it, I know what it was about, but during, I had no idea. It was like I was living the moment, not watching it." Riley attempted to keep her voice low, not wanting Xavier or Erik to hear. 'I don't need to worry them with stupid dreams.'

"What _was _it about?"

"People being led to the camps during the Holocaust, I believe. Everything was there; guards, numbers tattooed on arms, giant groups of scared people being led around like animals, everything we've learned about through our history classes."

She could still feel the anger she experienced when she was separated from her mother, as if it was her own. Strange, since she had never seen that woman before in her life. Yet the thought of being forced to leave her behind both terrified her and made her incredibly angry.

"Dude. You look _pissed." _

Iliana had watched Riley closely while she was talking about this dream and while she was clearly thinking about it. She saw the play of emotions on her face. Something about this dream made her friend furious.

Riley met Iliana's gaze. "Just thinking about it is making me mad, Eli," she confessed.

"Then stop thinking about it," she said with a small smile. "You've been asleep for a while; I think we're almost there. Think about _that."_

As soon as the words left Iliana's mouth, scenario after scenario began playing through Riley's mind, slowly pulling her away from her dream into thoughts that were much more welcoming.

Up at the front of the plane, Charles watched as the readings and monitors for the Blackbird finally stopped going haywire. The plane was alright, Erik had assured him as much when this fiasco began. However, the gadgets and gizmos that displayed this information had been on the fritz for quite some time.

'It started around the time the girl fell asleep,' Erik mused, turning in his seat to watch their two newest students, both clearly lost in thought. He faced forward again, ignoring the fact that Charles was staring at him. He spoke up.

"Erik, have you any idea what happened just now?"

Not looking over at his friend, he answered, "No."

Charles arched an eyebrow. "Really? Because now that I think about it, this reminds me of what happens whenever you wear a watch."

Now Erik decided to face Charles.

"You think that was me?" he asked quietly.

"No. I do believe, however, that you have some idea as to what it was."

Neither broke contact. Finally, Erik sighed.

'_We have already seen that Iliana is telepathic. She clearly doesn't realize it herself, but that is beside the point. Before I took Riley outside to check on her, I watched her. Closely. I was trying to see if she would give up a clue as to her abilities as well.' _Erik directed this to Charles, not wanting to distract the girls, but also not wanting to overload them with information.

'_And?'_

'_At first, nothing. I did notice she was twirling those stress balls, but that hardly means anything. However, when she stopped paying attention to what was happening around her and just faded out, I felt it. It was slight, but present.'_

'_And that would be…?'_

'_She was affecting the magnetic field. At first, I thought I imagined it. While we were outside, she informed me that before we arrived, she had an incident where she was holding those metal balls and sneezed, sending them _halfway across the room. _That planted the idea in my mind that maybe this girl's abilities are similar to my own. This merely adds weight to that theory.'_

'_Why did you not tell me?'_

Erik didn't answer, choosing to face forward. With a soft sigh, Charles did the same, noticing that they were about fifteen minutes away.

"Iliana, Riley," Xavier called out.

They snapped back to attention.

"We will be arriving momentarily."

"Please return your trays to the upright position and thank you for flying Mutant Air," Riley muttered, stretching. Xavier chuckled.

"Well," he started to say, "we have missed dinner by quite a bit, and as they have a Danger Room session first thing in the morning, I believe most, if not all, of the students have retired for the night."

'Thank God," thought Riley. She really wasn't in the mood to meet even _more _people today. She just wanted to sleep.

"So we are going to take your belongings to your new rooms, then reheat dinner and you girls can meet everyone tomorrow morning."

"That sounds great, Professor Xavier," said Iliana.

"Yep," supplied Riley, who wasn't paying any attention anymore. She was too busy watching as the Blackbird pulled into the hangar.

After the jet landed, everyone grabbed a box and Xavier led the parade inside.

Riley nearly dropped what she was holding as they entered the foyer.

'Holy shit,' she thought.

"You can say that again," Iliana muttered. Riley looked over at her, not realizing she had spoken aloud.

"Say what again?" Erik asked from the rear, vaguely irritated. Like Riley, he was ready for bed.

Before anyone could say anything, Xavier smoothly changed the topic. "We will take the elevator, for obvious reasons," he stated with a grin. Iliana giggled at that.

All four slid into the elevator as Xavier hit the appropriate button. Riley didn't see which floor they were headed to; she merely leaned back against the wall, trying not to fall asleep. As the elevator dinged and jerked to a halt, she stumbled, almost falling over. Only the hand that shot out in front of her kept her upright.

"Thanks," she mumbled to Erik, who nodded in response. The doors opened, and they were off once again.

"Your rooms are located on the third floor. These were mostly guest rooms before now, so the only other resident on this floor is Erik."

"If you need anything, I am usually in my room," he pointed to the first door they passed. Riley and Iliana nodded. Xavier stopped a moment later at the rooms that were directly across from his friend's.

"These will be your rooms, girls. Hank has already set both up with bedding and the like. There is a bathroom at both ends of the hall. I would suggest showering tonight, since it is near impossible to do so after the students finish in the Danger Room," Xavier explained.

Riley nodded and entered the first door. The room was pretty empty. There was a bed against the wall in the center, and a desk and chair across from that. Against the other wall was a black dresser. Riley frowned. 'Wonder if he'll let me slide the bed into the corner.' She always slept better like that.

Erik followed her inside and placed the box he was holding gently on the bed. Riley was nowhere near as graceful, dropping hers straight onto the floor. She sat on the bed and let out a sigh.

"Tired?" Erik asked.

"Exhausted," she muttered, rubbing her face. "Ow. Dammit." She completely forgot about the bruises.

Sighing again, she stood up and walked out. She almost ran straight into Iliana.

"Woah. You alright, Riley?"

"Mhm. Next box run?" she asked sleepily.

"I will go and get dinner prepared. As soon as you are done, Erik will show you to the kitchen. Excuse me." With that, Xavier rolled down the hall.

The group returned to the Blackbird to continue fetching boxes. After four trips, they were finally done.

Iliana followed Riley into her room and watched as her friend flopped face down onto her bed, knocking one of the boxes off. Erik stood at the doorway.

"Will Xavier let me move the bed into the corner?" Riley asked, muffled by the pillow she had her face buried in.

Suddenly, the bed slid over. Confused, Iliana looked over to Erik, who returned her gaze with a smirk on his face.

"I don't see why not," he answered.

"Thank you."

"Certainly. Now, if you two would follow me?" he asked politely. He was incredibly hungry and slightly annoyed that he hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Iliana made to leave, but Riley stayed put.

Erik sighed. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now. "Riley," he called out. Before he could say anything else, however, Iliana stopped him. She was grinning widely.

"Mr. Lehnsherr…she's asleep."

Erik walked over to the bed. Sure enough, the girl was out cold. He was stunned. She had fallen asleep in less than a minute?

"Impressive," he muttered, walking away. Iliana followed suit, still grinning.

"That was nothing. She's knocked out mid sentence before."

A few moments later, Erik and Iliana entered the kitchen just in time to watch Xavier pull their dinner out of the oven.

"Ah, perfect timing," he said with a smile. Looking over to his friend, he added, "Erik, you seem to be missing one."

"She's out. We'll just make sure she eats in the morning." Erik grabbed one of the plates and continued out to the dining room. As he sat down, Charles and Iliana entered as well.

"This does give us a chance to discuss something of importance with you, Iliana," Charles stated, patiently waiting for his meal to cool off.

Startled, she looked over at him. "What would that be?" she asked, nervously.

"Your abilities. I believe we have a good idea as to what they will be."

"Or _are," _Erik said under his breath. Charles shot him a look.

"Wait, you already know what I can do? How? What is it?" Iliana was excitedly firing questions at the two men.

"I believe you are telepathic, meaning you can read minds and communicate with them."

Her eyes widened. "That's a thing?"

Erik chuckled at that. "Yes it is," Charles answered with a smile. "That is actually what I can do myself."

"Really?"

'Really.' She felt that in her skull.

"Whoa, that was surreal. But wait, how do you know that's what I'll be able to do?"

At that, Charles and Erik exchanged glances. Charles continued.

"You were projecting earlier. While you were speaking with Riley, we could feel what you were saying in our minds, like what you just felt from me. Also, there was at least once where you responded to something that was not said aloud."

Iliana was astounded. "That's insane; I'm not a mind reader."

"Not yet," Erik said, finishing up his meal.

Looking down, Iliana realized she hadn't touched her own food yet. She dug in.

After a few moments, everyone finished and picked up their plates, heading back into the kitchen.

"Leave it, I will take care of that," Xavier said. "You have had a long day, you should get some rest."

"Thanks," Iliana said with a smile. As she made it to the door, she turned back.

"You know what I'll be able to do…what about Riley?"

Erik answered her. "I have a suspicion, but it's not confirmed yet. We can work on it tomorrow after you've been introduced to everyone."

"Alright. Good night," Iliana stated.

"Good night," Charles echoed.

"Night."

OoOoOoO

The next morning, Riley awoke drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. Her heart was racing.

'I am getting _so _sick of this.'

She evened out her breathing in an attempt to calm down. After a few minutes, it worked and she wasn't panicking anymore.

More nightmares. This was nowhere near as vivid as the one on the plane, just day-to-day life in a camp full of death and famine. Speaking of which, she was hungry, incredibly hungry, like she hadn't eaten in days.

She took a moment to weigh the pros and cons of getting up to hunt for the kitchen versus going back to sleep. In the end, sleep won out.

Sighing, she lay back down and checked the digital clock on the desk. It read 5:59 am.

'Meh, a few more minutes. Or possibly hours,' she thought as she curled up and shut her eyes. Just then, a knock came from her door. Groaning, she buried her face in her pillow. Maybe whoever it was would go away if she ignored them.

No such luck. The pounding continued.

"Go 'way," she called out sleepily. She heard a chuckle.

"That would rather defeat the purpose of me coming to fetch you, would it not?" Erik called out. He sounded like he was laughing.

"It is six in the morning, leave me alone," she grumbled.

"You can come out, or I can come in."

His only answer was a disgruntled snort. Shrugging, he opened the door and walked in. All of Riley's boxes were still scattered on the floor. He walked up to the bed and gripped her shoulder, shaking slightly. She grunted and shook him off, rolling over.

Sighing, he tried again, and received the same response. Just then, Iliana popped her head in through Riley's open door. "Any luck?"

Erik turned to watch as she walked up to the bed, sipping from the cup of water she was holding. Why couldn't everything be as easy as waking Iliana had been? He knocked, she answered, he informed her that it was time to get up, and she immediately began her morning steps. It was a walk in the park!

"None," he answered. She smirked.

"That's because you are far too nice, Mr. Lehnsherr." With that, she pulled the cover back just enough to expose Riley's head and dumped the remaining water onto her face.

Erik watched, amused, as Riley shot up, swearing. Realizing she wasn't, in fact, under attack, she relaxed slightly. Though the glare she sent at her two intruders could have possibly melted stone.

"_What?!" _she hissed, rubbing at her arm. Neither Erik nor Iliana was fazed by her hostility.

Erik spoke up. "It is time to get up. Charles and I will be showing you the sub basement levels, including the Danger Room. You will get to see the tail end of the students' morning session, after which, everyone will be introduced." Before he could say anymore, Riley's stomach let out a loud growl. She winced. Erik looked contemplative.

"Breakfast first, then the introductions," he said, mostly to himself.

"Now," he turned to Iliana, "I trust you remember where the kitchen is?" She nodded. "Good. When you two are ready, please join us there, and we will wait for everyone." With that, he turned to leave.

"Oh and Riley?" he called back, smirking. "I suggest you set the alarm from now on, because now that I know how to wake you up, I _will _use it." Before she could respond, he walked out.

"So…I guess I _can't _go back to sleep then?" she muttered as she got up and searched through the boxes for everything she needed. Iliana laughed loudly.

"I wouldn't advise it. When you're done let me know." Eli left for her own room as Riley headed to the bathroom.

The shower did wonders for waking her up and improving her mood. Stepping out, she regarded her reflection. The bruises were incredibly prominent against her pale skin. She poked the one along her jaw.

'Yep, still hurts. Fantastic.'

She put on her clothes and finished up in the bathroom. As she entered her room, she tossed her dirty clothes in a pile on the floor next to the dresser. 'I'll deal with that later.'

Stepping out again, she walked into Eli's room and sat in the chair at the desk. She looked to her best friend. "You ready?"

"Yea, but before we go, I want to tell you something that Professor Xavier and Mr. Lehnsherr informed me of last night."

"What's up?"

She took a deep breath. "They know what my powers are gonna be."

Riley's eyes were wide. "What are they?"

"I'm telepathic, like Xavier is."

"Oh shit, you can read minds?" Riley asked, excited. "That's awesome! It explains _so much, _dude, I— wait. Xavier reads minds?"

"Yes." Iliana was confused. Why did that seem to make Riley nervous? "Why?"

"Well, I mean," she stumbled over her words. "_You _knowing what I'm thinking is one thing. That's basically how it is already. But I'm not too hot on the idea of someone else knowing my thoughts," the last part came out rather quietly.

"I understand," Iliana replied. "I asked them if they knew what you could do." At that, Riley's eyes lit up.

"And?"

"No dice, sorry. Mr. Lehnsherr said he had an _idea, _but he didn't say more than that."

"Oh well." Riley shrugged, and then grinned. "The plot thickens."

With that, Iliana led them down to the kitchen, where they were to meet up with Charles and Erik.

Stepping in, both girls did a double take. Standing in front of the coffee pot was a hairy, _blue _monster. With glasses. A monster with glasses. He turned to face them as they entered and gave a warm smile.

"Ah, good morning Iliana, Riley," Xavier called out cheerfully. "I'd like to introduce you to doctor Hank McCoy," he said, indicating the blue ball of hair.

Doctor McCoy smiled at the two girls. His eyes lingered for a moment on Riley's face, and she sighed quietly. Was this going to happen with everyone she met?

"It is nice to meet you ladies," he said with a polite nod, taking his coffee and the morning paper and moving to the dining room.

"I know I'm still like…half asleep," Riley muttered, rubbing her eyes, "but he _was _blue, right?"

Erik chuckled from the doorway. "Indeed. You'll find that that is not as uncommon a color as you may think." He walked over to the fridge and pulled out an apple. Shutting the door, he tossed it to (or, in her drowsy state, rather _at_) Riley, who fumbled it, but managed to catch the thing.

"You didn't eat last night, so I want you to eat that to hold you off until breakfast."

Riley tore into the apple while Xavier briefly explained what the Danger Room was.

He led them to the elevator and the four arrived at the sub basement level. They passed multiple closed doorways, one of which was identified as the infirmary, and made it to the end of the hall. A quick turn led them to what Xavier referred to as the "control room".

Riley looked around at the small room. There were huge windows, looking down at the Danger Room. Around the walls were, surprise surprise, controls of all sorts.

'That must control the death machines Xavier was telling us about,' Riley thought as she chomped down on what was left of the apple. She didn't see a trash can, so she just shrugged and choked down the core.

"I don't think "death machines" was the phrase he used," Iliana called out from where she was staring out of the window. "Though it may be appropriate."

Riley stood next to her and peered down into the room. The first thought that came to mind was that it looked like barely organized chaos. There were metal tentacles, explosions, the whole nine yards. Dodging around all of the insanity was a small group of what appeared to be teenagers in…

'What the hell are they _wearing?'_ Riley thought, amused. That amusement quickly vanished as one of the tentacles smacked into a girl, sending her slamming into the ground.

"That probably didn't feel too good," Iliana muttered. Both Riley and Iliana let out sounds of surprise as they witnessed what appeared to be a red laser shoot into the tentacle, incapacitating it. A boy with a strange-looking visor on his face stepped out from where the beam emanated and moved to help the fallen girl.

"Did _he _do _that?" _asked Riley, looking over to Erik. It was strange; even though Professor Xavier was clearly the more paternal and outright caring of the two, she was almost drawn to Erik.

He looked over at her with a smirk. "Yes, he did."

She returned her attention to the discord down below. The girl and boy returned to the group. Riley couldn't make out what happened next, but suddenly everything stopped. The explosions ceased, the tentacles moved into what must have been their positions in the walls, and the scenery faded from the post-apocalyptic style wasteland into a silver room.

A short man moved to the head of the assembled group of mutants. He didn't look very friendly.

"That was _terrible," _his voice carried up to the control room easily. "What happened, Rogue?"

'Rogue?' Riley looked over to Iliana, who looked equally confused.

The girl who had been smacked by the tentacle, now identified as 'Rogue' spoke up. She had auburn hair with white streaks at the front, framing her face. Her skin was pale and Riley couldn't help but think that she would be drop dead _gorgeous _if she didn't have as much make up on.

"What do you _want, _Logan?!" she hissed, with a rather prominent southern accent. She was rubbing her shoulder and did _not _look pleased. "Scott had my back, but when he warned me the damn thing was coming, I didn't have a chance to move."

"Sorry about that," visor-boy said. She waved it off.

"You need to be quicker on your feet, Stripes." As he turned to face the next student, she rolled her eyes.

"Half-Pint!" he called out.

"What is _with _these names?" Riley muttered under her breath. Iliana snickered.

A small-framed girl with brown hair in a ponytail answered him with a surprised, "yes?"

"Don't phase without warning, you put your teammates in danger from the damn thing you just got away from," he stated, annoyed.

"Like, sorry," she said sheepishly.

'Valley girl,' Riley winced.

Logan must have dismissed them, because the group left. Xavier spoke up.

"They will meet up with us back in the dining room for breakfast, after which, everyone will be introduced and some of the students can show you their powers." Xavier made to exit and Erik followed. Iliana and Riley made up the rear.

"Professor, what is in that room?" Iliana asked, motioning to the door they just passed.

"That is Cerebro, a device that, when paired with strong enough telepathy, can locate mutants."

"Is that how you found us?"

"Indeed it is."

And into the elevator they went. Riley's thoughts were bombarded by the Danger Room and how painful/fun that entire situation looked. Iliana was thinking of Cerebro. 'I wonder if I would ever be able to use that…'

Before they knew it, they were at the threshold to the dining room. To say it was loud inside would be a gross understatement. Riley could make out at least three full-volume conversations. She heard a sigh and turned.

Erik had a scowl on his face and already looked annoyed. "What, chaos doesn't appeal to you in the mor— I smell bacon." Riley said, perking up.

Xavier led them inside, and all conversation ceased immediately. Riley was nervous with so many eyes on her. Iliana however, didn't mind in the slightest.

"Well everyone, this is Iliana," he indicated, "and Riley. They are our newest students, so please take care of them. After breakfast, you will all introduce yourselves and possibly give demonstrations of your abilities," Xavier said with a smile, knowing many of his charges would enjoy doing just that.

"What happened to your face, man?" a young man with short, blonde hair asked. Next to her, Erik growled slightly.

"Genetics," she mumbled, embarrassed.

"Ow!" The same kid yelped, holding his hand to the back of his head. The girl from before, Rogue, was sitting next to him, smirking. She met Riley's eye and winked.

Aside from that, breakfast was uneventful. Iliana politely ate her food while Riley shoveled it in, realizing for the first time exactly how hungry she was.

After breakfast, everyone moved to the living room. Visor-boy started up.

"My name is Scott Summers. I go by Cyclops, and I can shoot lasers from my eyes," he rattled off, rather formally. Looking at him, Riley had the impression that he was a garden variety stick-in-the-mud.

The "Half-Pint" continued. "My name is like, Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat, and I can like, phase through objects."

"Wait, you can walk through walls?" Iliana asked. Kitty smiled and nodded. Iliana was impressed.

Next up was the dark-skinned blonde boy from earlier. "Yo, my name's Evan. I can make bone spikes on my body, so I go by Spyke."

"You what?" Riley asked, confused. She didn't follow that at all, but probably because she was distracted by the _blue fuzzy demon _sitting next to him.

He laughed and held out his arm. Multiple spikes protruded from under his skin. Her eyes widened. "Well, damn."

Following Evan was the fuzzy one. Suddenly, Erik's comment from earlier made _so much sense. _

"My name is Kurt Wagner, the incredible Nightcrawler," he had a German accent, and Riley grinned. She had been studying German for three years, and it looked like she was now living with someone she could practice with. He continued. "Aside from this _irresistible _fuzziness, I can…" he trailed off and disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to reappear _behind_ Iliana.

"Teleport," he said in her ear, causing her to jump. Riley laughed at her friend.

Following that was a beautiful woman who was older than the students, but still appeared youthfully gorgeous. She had dark skin and bright white hair, just like the white now scattered in Riley's own hair.

She had a friendly, motherly smile as she introduced herself. "My name is Ororo Munroe. As I can control the weather, I also go by Storm."

"So you could literally rain on someone's parade?" Iliana asked. Storm nodded as Evan piped up with, "you have no idea."

"I am also Evan's aunt," she supplied, giving him a look.

Next to her sat a girl with long red hair. "Hello. My name is Jean Grey. I am telekinetic, which means I can move things with my mind. I am also telepathic, so I can—"

"Read minds," Iliana finished, excitedly. "So can I! Well, once my powers actually manifest completely."

Jean smiled. "If you'd like, I would be happy to work with you on that. It can be tricky to control."

"I'd like that," Iliana said with a smile.

Once Jean finished, the boy on the other sofa began, in a thick Louisiana drawl. "My name is Gambit, mes amis, Remy LeBeau. I make things go boom," he said with a lazy smile.

"You don't wanna be just a _little _more specific?" Riley asked, staring at his odd eyes. They were black and red! 'Awesome.'

"The rest is just technicalities." The smile never faltered.

Riley grinned. "Fair enough."

Last but not least, was the girl already identified as 'Rogue'. She didn't seem too excited to introduce herself. Sighing, she began.

"My name is Anna Marie Adler, but I prefer Rogue. I can," at this she faltered. "I can absorb life force and memories through my skin. In the case of mutants, I get their powers for a while, too."

Iliana didn't say anything to that. Riley however couldn't help herself.

"Cool, what does that feel like?"

Of all the possible questions, Rogue obviously was not expecting _that. _"Uh, not fun, I'm told."

Riley held her hand out, eyes wide. "I wanna see."

Rogue shook her head. "It'll hurt you."

"I don't care. Please?"

Behind Riley, Charles sat with confusion. No one had ever openly _offered _to let Rogue absorb them, especially after they knew it would cause pain. This girl continued to confuse him.

'You know, if she does touch Riley, it may tell us what she can do.' Charles looked over to Erik, who was watching the display between the two girls with amusement. It was no secret that he wasn't a fan of how Rogue felt she had to hide her powers.

Sighing, Rogue gave in. She removed her glove and lightly touched her fingers to Riley's hand. Riley inhaled sharply, but otherwise showed no sign of discomfort. After a moment, Rogue pulled back with a slight smile. There was always a slight feeling of freedom when she got to use her power.

"Whoa, that was weird," Riley said, a little groggily. "Do it again!"

"No."

Rogue sat back in her seat, sorting Riley's memories apart from her own when Jean spoke.

"So, we know what Iliana can do. What about you, Riley?" she asked nicely.

Riley shrugged. "I have no clue. Maybe it's my razor-sharp wit."

"I doubt that," Iliana replied. Riley shot her a look as many of the students snickered.

"Uh, I've got a _pretty _good guess," Rogue called out. All heads turned to look at her. She was holding her hand out. Floating weakly above her palm were the stress balls Riley had with her this morning. She reached into her pocket and sure enough, they were gone.

"Metal. She controls metal," Rogue said quietly, looking up.

"So, like Magneto?" asked Scott.

"Who's Magneto?" Iliana asked. She was starting to get confused.

"I am," Erik said, watching Rogue carefully. She met his eyes and smirked slightly.

"It's not _like _Magneto. This is the _exact same feeling. _Honestly, the only differences are the strength and the lack of a murderous personality."

Erik was stunned. 'Well,' he thought, 'this will most certainly be interesting.'

**A/N: Sorry about the wait, writer's block plus trouble brewing on the home front equals I completely forgot the point I was about to make. So, I'm working on becoming a beta, and if anyone who is reading this has a story they want beta'd, let me know and I would be happy to do it! :D**

**MakingT'ingsGoBoom: Thank you very much! I was afraid I was going to bore everyone with that, to be honest. Thank you for your kind words, I love seeing your reviews!**

**tx peppa: Oh, there will be other reasons Erik will want to kill him, don't you worry! But yea, I'm with you on the whole not knowing why people would just send their kids with these random people. I just figured hey, they never had to explain it in the show so I don't think I will either! :D**


	5. Tours and Frustration

**A/N: I totally forgot I would probably need to do this, since for some reason there is some sort of social stigma about certain characters. So, here we go. This story is marked as romance, ergo, there will be at least one romantic angle involved. Assuming this goes the direction I am planning, that pairing **_**will include Magneto**_**. If this bothers you, I'm sorry, I just wanted to put that out there so no one gets too involved in this story if they do not wish to read that. Thank you. **

**Oh, and I've noticed that I kept changing methods of writing, so from now on **_'this will denote thoughts both private and directed to others.' _

**And now, back to your scheduled program!**

After a few moments, the metal balls stopped their weak movements and dropped into Rogue's waiting palm. She held them out to Riley, who took them without a word and stared at them.

To anyone else who looked at her, Riley would appear lost in thought. And for good reason; she had just been informed as to what supernatural power she possessed. That's a lot of information to process. But Iliana knew her better; she wasn't deep in thought, pondering over this great new mystery. She completely bypassed the stage of shock and awe. She was trying to get the stress balls to move on her own.

Just then, as if on cue, she heard Riley shout. _'Move, dammit!' _

Judging by the fact that no one responded, Iliana realized she must have heard that in her head. This was such a foreign concept. Xavier had told her she was telepathic, but she still had trouble accepting it. Even with this proof, it was still so strange.

The other odd thing was that Riley was the only one she continuously heard. No one else accidentally blasted her with thoughts. _'They must be used to this already, living with two mind-readers,'_ she rationalized.

"Riley, yelling at them won't get them to move," she told her friend.

Riley looked up and locked eyes with Iliana. She grinned sheepishly. "So where's the owner's ma— Ah!" she exclaimed, looking to Erik. "How do I work this?"

He had a _huge _smirk on his face. "Yell louder."

Xavier interjected before things could get to the chaotic level.

"Alright! So now that everyone has been introduced—"

"What about Mr. Logan?" Kitty interrupted.

"The short guy who was yelling at everyone in the Danger Room?" Riley asked.

"Yep," she heard a gruff voice answer from the doorway. Turning, she saw that same man leaning against the door frame, glaring at her. She swallowed nervously.

Xavier waited for him to say anything else. When it was obvious that he had no intention of doing so, he sighed.

"Iliana, Riley, this is Logan, codenamed Wolverine. He has an accelerated healing factor, metal covering his bones, and claws. He also has incredibly heightened senses," Xavier rattled off.

"Professor, did you say claws?" Iliana asked, skeptically.

Logan grunted and clenched his hand into a fist. Sure enough, three metal claws popped out from between his knuckles. Iliana squawked and looked over to Riley who had a strange smile on her face, her eyes narrowed slightly. She wasn't trying to—

"Knock it off, Riley," she said. An innocent smile was her only response. Erik laughed loudly.

With another grunt, Logan left the room.

"Social butterfly," Rogue muttered as she leaned against Gambit's side. He snickered.

"As I was saying," Xavier began. "Now that everyone has been introduced, I'd like you to show Iliana and Riley around the Institute."

"Of course, Professor," Scott said, standing. He just _screamed _goody-two-shoes.

"Wonderful, thank you. Erik, may I have a word with you in my office?" Xavier asked, as he began to roll away. Sighing deeply, Erik stood and followed him, with an expression that easily read 'I would rather be _literally _anywhere else'.

Riley watched the two leave with a slight bit of irritation. The only person who could show her how to use these new abilities was walking away. Riley knew she wasn't a patient person by any means (Eli had once informed her that her impatience was quite legendary), but she wanted to play with these powers a little bit!

Plus, she found she actually enjoyed his company. He was sarcastic and funny, and she could tell he had a quick wit. _'He's probably smart as hell, too.'_

She returned her attention to the group now leaving the foyer. Many of the students must have backed out of tour duty while she wasn't watching, because now it was just Scott and Jean, with Rogue trailing slightly behind.

Wait a second. Rogue! _She _could teach her how to move the stress balls! Catching up to the green-eyed beauty, she spoke.

"I have a question for you."

"Yes," Rogue answered, turning. Rogue didn't quite know what to make of this girl. Where most people were nervous or afraid of her when they first learned of her powers, Riley was impressed, without even a _hint _of fear. _'She wouldn't have known what she was in for,' _Rogue rationalized. That was fair enough, she had nothing to base an understanding on. However, once the pull began, _still _she had no fear. The main emotion she got from Riley was amazement. Even when she and Gambit weren't as careful as they should be, she still felt a hint of fear from him, though he knew she wouldn't hurt him purposely. Riley had no way of knowing that, and she didn't seem to care. And afterwards, she had even _asked to be absorbed again! _

The only other person she had ever absorbed who lacked any iota of fear of her mutation was Magneto. He urged her to use it in training, would offer to let her use it on him if she needed, and even got mad when she preferred to use other methods to fight.

She returned her attention to Riley just in time to realize that she missed whatever the girl had asked.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Why don't you like your powers?" Riley asked bluntly. Again, her question caught Rogue off guard.

"How do you know I don't?" she fired back.

Riley grinned. "Everyone else was eager to show us what they could do. We didn't even really have to _ask, _at least not outright. But you sounded, I dunno, ashamed or something, like you thought we'd freak out. And then I had to practically _beg _you to show it to us."

Rogue sighed. "I can't control it."

"What, at all? Is that why you're wearing gloves?"

"Yes."

"Huh. Well, if you wanna practice it ever, I'd be glad to help." She was still grinning. Rogue couldn't help but smile back slightly. "Thank you."

"No problem. I do have another question," she said, somewhat nervously.

"Shoot."

"Can you show me how to use this?" She held up the stress balls. "Xavier hijacked my user's manual."

Rogue snickered at that mental image. "Wish I could. The only reason I even knew you _could_ do it was because your mind felt _so similar _to his. It's second nature to him, so I don't know the actual _how._ I'm sorry."

Riley felt her shoulders drop in disappointment.

She looked up, deciding she should probably pay at least _some _attention to this tour, considering she now lived here and was utterly _abysmal _with _any_ form of directions.

"-on the first floor," she heard Scott finishing up whatever he had just been saying as they reached the elevator.

"What's on the first floor?" she asked, peering down that hallway.

Scott sighed angrily. "Were you paying _any _attention to _anything_ I have been saying?"

"Uh…not really," Riley answered honestly. His eyes narrowed at her.

"I was _saying _that Professor Xavier, Logan, and Storm have the rooms on the first floor, just down that hallway. Everyone else is on the second floor."

"Fascinating," Riley said. She could already feel herself losing interest in this tour. _'Damn, I really need to work on my attention span.'_

'_That would probably be a good idea.'_

Riley nearly jumped a foot in the air when she felt _another person _in her head.

"I'm sorry, you were projecting," Jean said with a friendly smile.

"Um, how do I _not _do that?" Riley asked hesitantly.

As Jean opened her mouth to answer, Rogue beat her to it. "Ask Magneto when you go talk to him about your powers. He's the best at keeping a telepath out of his head."

That got Riley's attention. "Why?"

"Because he and the Professor have been close friends for decades."

"So wait. I was projecting? Like, just in general?" she asked Jean, who nodded. "Is it possible to project to a specific person?"

"Certainly."

"How?" Riley was excited. _This _was what she wanted to be doing. She would much rather learn about this new world she found herself in than wander around on a tour.

Mr. Seriousness placed his hand on Jean's shoulder. "How about we finish the tour and you can ask your questions later?" he asked, patiently. She sighed.

"Fine."

One grueling hour later, after walking around the entire mansion (including the sub basement and the grounds outdoors), they made it back to the living room.

Professor Xavier and Doctor McCoy were finishing a game of chess in two of the comfy chairs.

"Ah, there you are. The other students are about to start a game of baseball just a few moments if you wish to join them," Xavier said with a smile. "Checkmate."

"Just as well, I have to ref for them anyways," Doctor McCoy said with a smile as he got up. Walking past the group of students, he added in a stage whisper, "They cheat."

"How do you cheat at _baseball?_" Iliana asked.

He grinned. "You'll have to join in."

"That sounds amazing, fill me in later, thanks for the tour, bye," Riley rattled off in a hurry as she bolted up the stairs to the third floor. _'Finally.' _

She all but ran straight to Erik's room and knocked on his door almost frantically. She was starting to believe he wasn't there, when the door slowly opened on its own.

'_Seems like a super villain from a bad movie,' _she thought with a snicker.

She poked her head inside. He was sitting at the desk with the light on, reading a book. He marked his place and set it down as he turned to look at her. She noticed he was smiling.

"Hello, Riley. Can I help you?" He asked knowingly.

She pulled the stress balls out of her pocket and tossed them to him. They stopped a couple inches from his face. His smile turned into a smirk.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to come speak to me."

"Yea, well, the tour lasted for five years and I couldn't escape," she stated as she stepped inside his room and closed the door behind her.

He laughed. "I expected as much. So, what would you like to know?" The balls floated over to her and fell into her open palm.

"How do I move them?" she asked quietly, staring into his eyes.

"Clear your mind. Don't think about anything whatsoever."

Riley closed her eyes and attempted to do as she was instructed. It was difficult, but eventually she managed to clear out her thoughts.

"Okay. Now what?" she asked calmly.

She felt his hand on the back of hers. "Now focus only on the metal in your hand. Can you feel it with your mind?"

She tried. She focused as hard as she could on the two metal balls she was holding. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't "feel it with her mind".

After a couple minutes, she let out a frustrated sigh, opening her eyes.

"No luck?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Any other ideas?"

His raised his eyebrow. "For learning the basics of how to even _sense _what you hope to manipulate? No. Though with enough practice, you will not need to clear your mind to do it."

"Rogue told me it was second nature to you. Is that true?"

He released her hand. "Yes. I have been perfecting my abilities for many years."

"She also told me," Riley began nervously, "that you would be a good person to ask in order to learn to not project my thoughts, or how to project them to a specific person."

He nodded. "That is true. However, much like with this," he motioned to her hand, "it will not come immediately. You will need to practice, constantly. Though I would be happy to help, of course," he finished with a smile.

She returned it. "Awesome. So, in order to get _anywhere _with this, I have to be able to feel it…without feeling it, right?"

"Correct," he stated as she sat on the edge of the bed and tried again.

OoOoO

After the baseball game, Iliana wandered back into the mansion with a smile on her face. Mutant baseball was _hilarious._

'_Ah, Iliana, would you mind meeting me in my office?' _She felt Xavier's question in her mind.

"Sure," she said out loud, grateful she had been listening to Scott's tour.

'_Wait, how do I work this?' _she thought to herself as she made her way to where he was.

'_Exactly like that.'_

She hadn't expected a response to that, and she jumped a bit, startled.

'_So, what, just think it _at _you?'_

'_Precisely.'_

'_Cool.'_

Just then, she arrived at his study to find the door open. Walking in, she saw Xavier seated at the desk, viewing some paperwork. He smiled as she entered.

"Hello Iliana. I just wanted to make sure the other students are treating you well, and I wanted to give you some exercises to work on for your abilities."

"Thank you! Um, everyone has been really friendly so far," she said, thinking back to the game she had been observing. Kurt and Kitty would come over and sit with her to talk whenever they were waiting to bat. She found that Kurt was a total goofball and Kitty was more or less his partner in crime. At one point, she and Kitty watched as Kurt toyed with Evan before he went up to bat, almost resulting in a bat to the fuzzy head.

"I am glad to hear that," he said happily. "And what of Riley?"

"I'm not sure, actually. I know that while Scott was showing us around she was talking to Rogue and not paying attention, which is incredibly common for her. And as soon as he was done, she _ran _up the stairs, I assume to talk to Mr. Lehnsherr about her powers. But again, that's not unusual. She doesn't tend to make many friends, at least not quickly, and she would rather solve a puzzle than watch a baseball game."

"If I may, how many friends would you say she had in California, other than yourself?"

Iliana shook her head with a sad smile. "There was only me."

"Well, we will certainly try to fix that," he said as he wrote something down. "But for now, I want you to focus on me. Do not think of anything else, just me for now."

"Ok." That was easier said than done, Iliana always had a lot on her mind. After a while though, she was able to focus completely on him.

"Good. Now as odd as this may sound," he said with an amused smile. "I want you to try to listen with your mind. I will attempt to direct a thought to you, without my telepathy. Yours will have to pick it up." At her confused expression, he added, "this will make more sense in practice, I can assure you."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Iliana was about to ask him if he was ready to begin when he asked if she got anything.

"No, nothing."

They continued like that for another half hour, with the same results. Xavier decided it was time to switch it up.

"Ok, now I want you to attempt to direct something at me, similar to how you did earlier. However, this time I will not hear it unless you direct it with _your _abilities."

"Sure thing."

She thought hard. Nothing. She did it again. Again, nothing. After the third, fourth, _fifth _attempt, she began feeling frustrated.

"I can't do this, professor. It isn't working."

He looked contemplative. "Perhaps seeking assistance from Jean would be a good idea. She is creative; no doubt she can come up with an effective endeavor."

Iliana made to leave. "Ok, I'll go ask her. Thank you, professor."

He nodded. "Of course. I will let you know when I come up with something that may work."

She left his study and almost ran straight into Erik. He looked vaguely surprised to see her there, but he let out a chuckle.

"It looks like you two are more like-minded than I thought," he said, correctly interpreting where she was coming from. She grinned.

"I dunno, she _barely _survived the tour, and I'm pretty sure if you ditch her in the sublevels, she'll be lost for a week. Besides, Xavier asked me to come."

"Did he? And were you able to make any progress at all?" he asked.

She shook her head, disappointed. "None whatsoever. It's kind of frustrating."

"Well, take solace in knowing that you are not alone on that," Erik stated with a kind smile. "Three and a half hours later and the only reason Riley is taking a break is because I threatened not to help her until she unpacks her boxes. But likewise, she had made no progress."

This situation made him curious. Both girls had used their powers subconsciously more than once. What was stopping them now? He was so deep in thought that he didn't realize she asked him a question.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I just asked if Riley was still in her room. I wanna tell her about the movie night tonight."

"Yes, when I left a moment ago, that is where she was."

"Thank you, Mr. Lehnsherr," she said as she headed up the stairs.

"Of course." He turned and moved toward Charles' study.

OoOoO

'_Last one, finally.'_

Riley exhaled as she set the final box on her bed and opened it up. This one held the fun stuff; her games, posters, and laptop. One by one she removed the posters and tacked them to the wall. She set her laptop on the desk next to the small stack of Agatha Christie novels.

Turning back to the box on her bed, she pulled out two handheld game systems just as she heard a knock on her door. Knowing there were really only two people it could be, she called out, "come in!"

"Wow, he actually got you to unpack. I genuinely thought you'd be living out of the boxes until you couldn't avoid it," Iliana said as she walked in and shut the door.

"That was the original plan, actually," Riley said as she placed the two systems almost reverently in the top desk drawer.

"Does that thing even work anymore?" Eli asked, nodding at the computer. Riley sighed. "Barely. It's basically just a fancy DVD player now, since it takes forever to do _anything _else."

"Oy, Riley, they are gonna have a movie night tonight after dinner. You wanna join in?"

She winced. "Honestly…not really."

"Come on, please?" Iliana pleaded with her.

"Fine, I'll go for a bit," she conceded with a sidelong glance at her friend. "Happy?"

"Thrilled! Did you learn anything from Mr. Lehnsherr?"

Another sigh. "I learned that I can't even do the _basics _of what I'm supposedly capable of."

"Same here, I was with Xavier for almost an hour. Nada."

They continued to discuss everything from what they thought of the campus to how they felt about each student. When Riley shared her opinion of Scott, Iliana laughed.

"Yea, I got that vibe, too. What about Jean?"

"A female Scott. Always obeys the rules, never wants confrontation…am I close?"

Iliana thought back to the baseball game. Jean had been the last one to use her powers, even though it quickly and _obviously _became a powers-based game. "I think you probably are."

The personality assessments continued for a while. Eventually, they got to Rogue.

"I have no clue what to make of her," Iliana said. "She's nice, but seems bit strange."

"I like her," Riley said with a shrug. "She actually wanted to help me out even though she couldn't. Plus," she added with a sly smile, "she's really cute."

Iliana grinned. "Too bad for you, though, looks like she's with Gambit. Or at the very least they enjoy cuddling."

Riley lay down on her bed, arms behind her head. "Too bad."

Iliana checked the clock. "Damn, we've been in here a while, dinner is in an hour and a half."

"Ugh, and I didn't eat anything since breakfast!"

"Look at it this way," she paused and Riley turned to face her. "The food will certainly taste _amazing, _won't it?" She ducked as Riley hurled the pillow at her.

The two girls continued talking about everything under the sun as they waited for dinner.

**A/N: Well, there we go. I needed a transition chapter before the next one, which will probably be a bit longer since it's gonna cover **_**a lot. **_**Powers finally working, friendships (and possibly crushes) emerging, the whole kit and caboodle. **

**I'm having so much fun writing this story and I hope you all are enjoying in even a **_**fraction **_**of that amount.**

**NCISprobie: Thank you so much for the support!**

**Jonny Tre'maine: Yay, hi there! I'm happy to see that you are enjoying this! I have every intention of continuing it to that stage, I assure you.**

**MakingT'ingsGoBoom: I was so happy to get to that part, too, my roommate was throwing pillows at me cuz I was so excited. I'm hoping that seeing not just what her power is, but what that means will give some insight into Iliana as well! Thanks for your support!**

**tx peppa: Damn, creepy wasn't my intention. Especially since it won't be in either of those ways. Sorry. :( **

**Until the next!**

**-Mac**


	6. I am Thou, Thou art I

Dinner was…interesting. Riley was attempting to both eat her weight in spaghetti and focus on "feeling" the metal fork. It wasn't working. But on the plus side, the spaghetti was great.

After everyone finished up, the group migrated to the living room to start the movie.

'_I really don't wanna be here right now.'_

Iliana glanced over at Riley and noticed the bored expression on her face. Elbowing her lightly, she glared. "Come on, at least _try _to have fun, Riley," she whispered.

Sighing, Riley called out, "so, what are we watching?"

"Titanic!" Kitty shouted enthusiastically.

'_Shoot me.'_

"Riley," Iliana warned. At least she was getting better at knowing when Riley was projecting and when she was actually speaking.

"What?" she mumbled.

"This will be fun, I promise."

Everyone settled in as the movie began. Iliana was excited; this was one of her favorite movies of all time. She focused her attention on the screen and allowed herself to finally calm down for a bit.

'_This movie sucks, why am I here again?'_

'_What the hell?' _Iliana thought, confused. That wasn't Riley, it sounded and felt different. It actually sounded somewhat like Rogue. Strange.

'_Ah, I wish they would let me pick the movie sometime.'_

If she had to hazard a guess as to who fired that thought, it would be Kurt. It was interesting to see that a person's speaking mannerisms and accent carried over to their thoughts.

As the movie picked up, more and more thoughts were bombarding Iliana. They were almost coming non stop. It was starting to make her head hurt.

'_Oh no, this movie always makes me cry, I can't let him see that!'_

'_Be a man and _don't cry_.'_

'_I think you're gonna need a bigger boat, mon ami.'_

'_Damn, she's a cutie.'_

Thought after thought assaulted her brain. Closing her eyes, she began to massage her temple, hoping that it would do something, _anything, _to help.

"Eli?" Riley asked quietly.

"Stop," she whispered.

"Stop what?" Riley was beginning to get worried. Eli looked like she was in pain. "What's wrong?"

Her friend made no indication that she had even heard her.

"Stop," she said a little louder, getting the attention of a couple students.

"Iliana?" Scott asked in a concerned tone. "What is—"

"STOP!" she screamed. Everyone groaned as that word tore through their minds. Iliana didn't seem to notice any of it. She was now sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, both hands pressed to her head. Riley turned to face her, immediately paling as she saw how much pain she was in.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" she asked no one in particular, placing her hand on Iliana's shoulder. No response. She shook her. Again, nothing.

"I think she's having a telepathic episode." Jean stated, coming over to stand in front of Iliana's curled form. "Can someone please get the Profe—"

"No need," Xavier stated as he entered the room, Doctor McCoy trailing behind. Jean moved out of the way as he positioned himself in front of Iliana. Placing his hands at either side of her face, he concentrated. After a few moments, she calmed down and her breathing began to regulate. She opened her eyes as he lowered his hands.

"What happened, Iliana?" he asked gently.

"I'm not positive, professor. A-at first I was only able to hear Riley. But that's not new, I've been able to hear her multiple times since we got here. But then it started getting worse, more intense. I don't think anyone was _trying _to send me anything, but I started getting bombarded, and it _hurt. _A lot." She still sounded a bit shaky.

"I see. Perhaps it would be best if you turned in early tonight?" he suggested gently. She nodded.

"Yea, I think I'd like that."

"I'll take her!" Riley jumped up. Iliana stood and leaned against her and the pair made their way to the elevator. Xavier watched them go with a contemplative look on his face.

'_Erik,' _he sent out, _'please come to my office, something has happened.'_

He didn't cut the connection fast enough to miss Erik's annoyance, and he allowed himself a small smile. He would never admit it out loud, but he certainly enjoyed pushing his friend's buttons.

OoOoO

As the girls exited the elevator, they came face to face with Erik, who must have been just leaving his room. With a raised eyebrow, he addressed Riley, since Iliana did not look to be in a speaking mood.

"Charles told me that something just transpired. Would this," he indicated their current predicament, "have _anything _to do with that?"

"Only completely," she mumbled as she opened Iliana's door and moved so she could lie on the bed. "Night dude," she whispered as she left, closing the door behind her. She turned to face Erik. Before he could ask, she explained everything to him.

Throughout her explanation, he remained quiet, thinking.

"I'm worried about her," Riley confessed. "What if this shit happens again, and he's not able to stop it? Would it have killed her?"

"I am not sure," he responded gently. "This is not my area of expertise. However, I know that Charles will work with her to ensure that it _doesn't _happen again."

Riley nodded. "Well, I was only at movie night because she wanted me to, and I _hate _Titanic, so…goodnight." With that, she wandered into her room.

He chuckled lightly. "Good night."

He moved to continue on to Charles' study. He knew his friend would give him grief for taking his time, but that was his payback. Childish or not, he loved messing with Charles.

Not concentrating, Erik missed the slight magnetic fluctuations as he stepped into the elevator.

OoOoO

Charles drummed his fingers on his desk as he awaited Erik's arrival. Iliana's episode had taken him by surprise, as he knew she had made no progress with the mental exercises. So what, then, had caused it?

The knock at the door sounded loud in the quiet study. "Come in," he called out. Erik entered and sat at the desk wordlessly. After a few seconds, he broke the silence.

"I ran into Riley on the way over here," he began. "She mentioned that Iliana had experienced a telepathic…" he faltered, searching for an appropriate word, "anomaly."

"That's where my confusion arises, Erik. She should not have been _capable _of doing what she did. Earlier today, she was unable to detect thoughts I directed to her, yet she was getting those of the students when they _weren't _directed. Also, she couldn't aim any thoughts at me, but she was able to scream simultaneously into everyone's mind. What could have changed in such a short time?"

Erik didn't respond. He was racking his brain trying to piece this mystery together.

"I don't think we'll be able to learn more until we can speak more with her; possibly find out exactly what was going through her mind at the time," Charles said with a sigh. "I just wish I knew what actually _happened."_

"What if it wasn't an anomaly, Charles?" Erik said slowly. "Everything she did you are capable of. It is merely untrained at the moment. I do remember back when we met you had a considerably difficult time controlling your telepathy. At times, especially when you were emotional, you sent thoughts to me with far more force than was necessary."

"What are you saying?"

"Just that she experienced something similar to what you have been through, though seemingly more powerful. Also, Cerebro _did _warn you that the emergence of her powers would probably be dangerous. I am willing to bet that that is what happened here today."

"The actual emergence of her abilities," Charles stated with a small smile. "That would make sense. Once she is up to it, I'm sure she'll make more progress with her mental exercises if that is the case."

"One thing bothers me, though," Erik began. "It is a question Riley asked when I ran into her. She asked if it was to happen again and you weren't able to stop it, would it kill Iliana?"

Charles looked at his friend. "I don't know. I do know that I would have been able to feel her distress easily anywhere in the mansion. I believe that if it happens again, I should be able to stop it again, though if it is her abilities emerging as you suggested, we shouldn't have to worry about that."

"I see."

Suddenly Erik looked slightly uncomfortable. His gaze moved up to the ceiling and he had a contemplative look in his eye.

"What is the matter, Erik?" Charles asked, concerned.

He returned his attention to his friend. "If it was her powers manifesting then we have another instance to be on the look out for," he stated quietly.

"Riley," Charles said with a nod.

"And if her 'awakening' is anything like Iliana's…" he trailed off.

"Then we should probably keep a close eye on her," Charles finished.

"Yes, and we should start now." With that, Erik rose from his chair and made for the door.

"Why?" Charles asked, as he followed his friend.

"Because I just felt a _huge _magnetic fluctuation. Either she has been practicing and got very good _very _fast, or something else is happening." With that they sped toward the elevator. Erik pressed the button and waited impatiently for the doors to open. After what felt like an eternity they arrived on the third floor. However, the doors weren't opening. The two men looked to each other in confusion before Erik simply forced them apart with a wave of his hand. _'I don't have the patience for this.'_

They stopped just outside of Riley's door. Charles knocked, but there was no answer. When he called her name, he also received no response. He then attempted to turn the knob, but it wouldn't budge.

"She locked her door?" he asked. Erik gripped the knob. Again, nothing.

"She didn't lock it, she's holding it shut." With that, he flicked his wrist and the door opened.

They entered the room. It looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Posters littered the floor, the desk chair was toppled over, everything was in disarray. What caught Charles' attention, however, were the push pins used to attach the posters to the walls. They were all floating unmoving at eye level.

Suddenly a loud _crunch _emanated from one side. Erik winced as he realized what made the sound. Riley's laptop sat atop the desk, twisted and mangled in a heap. He turned his attention to the bed, where Riley lie asleep. Looking closer, he noticed a small trail of blood running down from her nose. As he stepped closer to check on her, he kicked something. Looking down he realized it was one of those portable game systems the students had been so obsessed with recently. It was twisted as well, as if someone had wrung it out like a towel. Next to it, also floating slightly off the ground, sat another one, which looked like it had been ripped in half, screen shattered.

As he reached Riley's side, he placed his hand on her forehead. She was trembling slightly. Then, as if someone had thrown a switch, everything dropped to the ground. Charles let out an indignant squawk as some of the pins landed on him.

Riley groaned quietly and opened her eyes. Erik lowered his hand as she rubbed her eyes.

"M' head hurts."

Charles wheeled up to her bed as well. "You should go back to sleep, it seems you have had an eventful evening.

"Wha' happened?"

"We're fairly certain that your powers have just completely emerged," Erik told her. "This is also what we believe happened to Iliana earlier today. Once you are feeling better, you should be able to start using your abilities with much less difficulty," he told her with a small smile.

Her eyes widened. "Seriously? Wait, what actually _happened _that made my powers emerge?"

Erik sighed and said, "Look around."

Riley took in the state of her room and grumbled to herself. She made to get up, stopping only when both Charles and Erik advised her that it wouldn't be wise. She sat upright in her bed and rubbed her nose, startled when her hand had blood smeared on it.

Seeing her expression, Erik immediately said, "Don't worry, that can happen when you first begin using your abilities, it happened to me multiple times."

She looked to him. "Promise?"

"Yes."

"Cool," she stated, laying back down. "I'm beat."

"Right. Well, you have had a long day, so we'll leave you to it. If you feel up to it tomorrow, I would be interested to see if you and Iliana can now complete the exercises Erik and I have given you," Charles said as he and Erik headed to the door.

When he received no answer, he turned back around. Sure enough, she was out like a light. Erik shook his head lightly and waved his hand. All of the pins that were scattered about rose into the air and gently landed on top of the dresser. With that, they left the room.

OoOoO

_214782. 214782. Every time she looked down, that was all she saw. The forced tattoo was vibrant against her pale skin. It hurt like hell, but she was too distracted by the fact that she had just been _branded like a fucking animal _to care too much. 214782. That was her new name. She was shoved out of the room, listening as the screams of others receiving their new names rang through the night. _

_A shovel was hurled into her arms, and the guards screamed at her to start digging. As she obeyed, she watched a new group of people arrive, and with one glance she could tell where they were destined. Shedding a silent tear, she thanked God that at least they would die with their names._

_214782. 214782._

**A/N: So I know I promised a longer chapter and all that, but I am suffering from severe writer's block past the emergence of Riley and Iliana's abilities. So I figured instead of waiting to get over this to put up the chapter, I would give you what little I already had finished!**

**As for the number, I chose the one from when Magneto was first introduced, even though it would not have been historically accurate for when he arrived at Auschwitz. **

**As always, until the next!**

**Mac**


	7. Practice Makes Perfect

Riley's eyes slowly fluttered open. She groaned and rolled over, hoping she would be able to fall back asleep. However, after twenty minutes of tossing and turning, she realized that that was not going to happen.

It didn't help that every time she closed her eyes, an image of the same six numbers would flash before her vision. 214782. She felt sick to her stomach remembering the origin of those numbers.

'_People suck,' _she thought as she sat up and stretched.

'_Yea, no shit,' _she heard in her head. She yelped and could hear Iliana's laughter through the wall. _'Afternoon, Riley.'_

She heard a knock on her door and shouted, "Come in!" expecting Eli. She was shocked when Erik stepped inside.

"Ah, you're finally up," he said.

"Finally?" she asked, turning to check the clock. It was after one PM already. "Damn. Isn't it against your beliefs or something to let me sleep past the ass-crack of dawn?"

He laughed at that. "Yes, well, Charles and I figured it best to let the two of you sleep as long as you needed following last night's events. Iliana has been up for a couple hours and has been working with Charles, and if I recall correctly miss Grey as well. She has at least a slight grasp on the basics now."

"Cool," Riley said as she tossed off the blankets and stood up. Erik was watching her like a hawk.

"Indeed. And once you are ready, I intend to work with you."

As she turned around to fully face him, intent on offering her thanks, she kicked something lying on the ground next to her bed. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was.

"What the hell?" she whispered, picking up the ruined item and just staring at it. Erik cleared his throat and Riley turned to him. She looked devastated.

"Last night, when Iliana's powers were emerging, Charles was there to prevent the situation from getting out of hand for her. That was not the case with you. We didn't realize what was happening at first. By the time we made it to you, you had already begun affecting the metal objects around you. The posters were down and those systems destroyed. The computer happened shortly after," he explained. Riley spared a glance to her wreck of a computer, but her attention quickly returned to what she was holding.

"It was a present," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry?"

She motioned to the system. "This. No one ever celebrated my birthday at home. It wasn't something _worth _celebrating. The only ones who cared were Eli and her parents. That," she motioned to the other mangled system, "was from last year. But this…this one was the first birthday present I have ever received. My prized possession," she finished in a whisper.

Erik didn't know how to respond to that, so he didn't even try.

"Eri—Mr. Lehnsherr," Riley began, correcting herself.

"Erik is fine," he stated with a small smile.

She mirrored it. "Thanks."

"Mmm. What were you about to say?"

"I can feel it."

"Oh?"

She returned her attention to the system she was holding, and Erik simply watched her, fascinated. She continued to surprise him at every encounter. Even though she was obviously upset about the whole thing, she was still trying to learn. He could tell she was looking for what little metal would be present in the mangled heap she held. He heard her take a deep breath and he knew she found it. In the beginning, feeling the metal in an object was a surreal, intense feeling that transcended the five senses. In a room with metal furnishings, he didn't have to see anything to know where he was going. Even now, decades later, it was still just as intense. He relied on his metalsense as often as he could, and he knew Riley would as well.

"How do I make it move?" she asked, tearing him from his thoughts. Her eyes were red.

He gently pried the system out of her hand and set it on the bed. "Perhaps with something a little less…sentimental," he said calmly, and the Baoding balls floated over from their resting place on the dresser to land in Erik's hand. They, too, were warped, though as he deposited them into her hand, they righted themselves.

"Get yourself ready and when you finish, come to my room. We will get started." He gave her a predatory grin and exited the room.

Riley shook her head in an attempt to clear it, feeling slightly dazed. She gathered everything she would need and headed for the shower. It wasn't until she made to strip down that she realized what she wore to bed last night. Sighing, she rested her head on the mirror and allowed herself a moment of self-beratement (BAM, new word). She was wearing a guy's tank-top – the kind with the exceptionally large sleeve-holes – and a pair of short boxers. Nothing more.

"Please God, an aneurism," she muttered, mortified at the fact that she had most likely just flashed her instructor.

Back in his room, Erik sat on the bed with a smirk. He thought back to Riley a few moments earlier, and to how she ensnared his attention so completely. Maybe it was her powers, knowing that he would get to train them from the start was alluring. But he knew there was something more than that. She also intrigued him as a person.

He waved his hand towards the window and it opened, but that didn't remedy the stifling heat. Sighing, he stood up and moved to his dresser. Long sleeves, it seemed, would be too uncomfortable. He tossed his shirt into the hamper and stretched his arms. As he grabbed a short sleeved shirt, a knock sounded at the door. Smiling slyly, he waved it open. As Riley stepped inside and shut the door, he slipped on the shirt.

"That was fast," he remarked.

"Huh?" she retorted, meeting his gaze.

"That was fast," he repeated as he finished buttoning up the shirt.

"Uh, yep." She said nothing more, though her cheeks suddenly took on a bright red tint.

"So, where should we start?" she asked almost frantically, desperate to begin so she could focus on something other than Erik.

He smirked, but said nothing as he sat down on the bed again. He motioned her to sit with him.

"Clear your mind. Completely. Can you do that?"

"Yea, I think so," she answered, closing her eyes.

After about two minutes, Riley let out a long breath and opened her eyes, with a peaceful smile on her face.

"Good. Alright, now can I assume you are still able to feel the metal?" He held out his hand and the stress balls floated over to him and rested above his palm. "You can sense it without having to physically touch it?"

She looked to the metal spheres and focused only on them. She could feel them at the forefront of her mind, like a steady hum. It was pleasant and unobtrusive.

"Yes, I got it."

"Wonderful. Now just focus on what you want it to do." With that, he dropped the balls into her hand.

Riley attempted to focus as hard as she could. She imagined the metal in her palm twisting and contorting together into one spiral. She watched astonished as it followed her unspoken command. Fluidly, the metal warped exactly as she had wanted it to.

She decided to try something else. Now, instead of trying to warp it, she merely focused on where she wanted it to go. She was aiming to get it to float gently over towards Erik. This proved to be much more difficult as the distorted metal shot out toward his face.

It stopped less than an inch away, and he looked at her with one eyebrow raised, an amused smirk on his face.

"Shit, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened," she began nervously. He held up a hand, stopping her rant.

"Not a problem, Riley. Try again."

She continued to work with him for another couple hours. Eventually, he called for her attention.

"Well done. We should probably stop here for now."

"What?" she exclaimed. "It's only," she looked at the clock, "oh, wait, never mind. Ok."

She got off the bed and when she reached the door, she turned to face Erik. "Thank you," she said with a smile.

"Any time."

OoOoO

Iliana was sitting at her desk, typing away on her computer when her door flew open. Without even looking away from the screen, she called out, "hey, Riley."

"Yo."

"So, how did it go?"

Riley suddenly started cackling. Iliana turned to her friend who was sprawled out on her bed.

"Well, I can destroy shit. You?"

Iliana smiled. "Professor Xavier is helping me greatly. So far, I can somewhat listen to other people's thoughts and talk to them with mine."

"That's awesome, dude, I- wait. 'Somewhat'?"

She smiled sheepishly. "It's been really difficult with mostly everyone. But for some reason, I have absolutely no problems listening to you. At times I can't even tell it isn't being spoken aloud."

"Nice," Riley replied with a grin. She moved to get off of the bed.

"I'm gonna get a nap in before dinner. Later."

With that, she left the room. Iliana smiled as she returned to what she had been working on.

Riley shut her friend's door and wandered into her own room. She looked around with a tired sigh. Everything was still in disarray.

'_I'll deal with this crap tomorrow. Or maybe never.' _

With that, she fell asleep, hoping for a moment of peace from her nightmares.

**A/N: This chapter is also a bit on the shorter side. I'm still trying to deal with this writer's block, and it's a bit difficult. I'm hoping to get into some of the actual grit of the story next chapter or so. Plus I'm also going to begin working on a second story soon. It will be a Magneto/Rogue, so keep your eyes open for it!**

**Until the next.**

**Mac**


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